Action allowing year-round sales of E15 in the US could be near: trade group

In the next few months, legislative or legal proceedings could set the stage to allow year-round sales of a gasoline blend containing 15% ethanol in at least part of the US, according to the head of the Renewable Fuels Association.

"We are getting down to crunch time," if EPA is going to allow E15 in time for summer 2024, Geoff Cooper, the CEO of RFA, told S&P Global Commodity Insights. "Waiting until the last minute is not going to be good for anybody," he said.

One avenue for action is a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Iowa and Nebraska (State of Iowa, Attorney General, et al v. EPA, 4:23-cv-00284). The suit asks an Iowa court to compel EPA to act on a petition from Midwest states to finalize a rule -- at least six months before the 2024 summer driving season -- that would allow E15 to permanently be sold in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The court has set a Nov. 29 deadline for the parties to ask for summary judgement or dismissal and responses are due Dec. 13, Cooper noted. The judge could decide on those filings by the end of the year and, if summary judgment is granted, the order could include a date by which EPA must act on the petition, he said.

Legislative fix

The other avenue for action is a bill that would allow use of E15 year-round nationwide and supersede what the Midwest states are doing, Cooper said. "It really represents a compromise between the ethanol industry and oil industry and fuel marketers and farm groups," he said.

E10, which contains 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline, is widely accepted and available from retailers across the country year-round. But EPA restrictions on air pollution from gasoline prohibit the sale of E15 in conventional gasoline markets, which make up about 70% of the US gasoline market, from June 1 to Sept. 15.

Both the oil industry and the ethanol industry have championed the legislative fix (S. 2707) because it would provide equal treatment nationwide to all conventional gasoline blends by making them subject to the same fuel volatility limit.

While it could be difficult to find a way to pass the measure by the end of December, Congress will have to approve a spending bill in January and that could be an opportunity to include E15 legislation, Cooper said.

In response to the petition from Midwest states, EPA in March proposed to allow year-round sale of E15 within the borders of those states, effective April 28, 2024. The agency has not yet finalized the proposal.

The effective date in the proposed rule is still cutting it close, said Cooper. May 1 is the date by which fuel blending terminals must start blending fuel for the summer, he explained.

"That is why we need to see a final rule from EPA very soon," Cooper said. "Otherwise, those operators will say they don't have enough time to get ready for this change," he said.

EPA did not respond to a request for comment by press time.