Trump details plan to allow E15 fuel sales in summer - Entrepreneur Generations

During a trip to Iowa, President Trump announced Tuesday the details of his plan to lift the federal ban on summer sales of high-ethanol gasoline blends, which will benefit corn-growing states. High-ethanol blends could have as much as 15 percent ethanol; gasoline typically has about 10 percent ethanol.

"The long-expected announcement is something of a reward to Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman led a contentious but successful fight to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court," Matthew Daly reports for The Associated Press. "The veteran Republican lawmaker is the Senate’s leading ethanol proponent and sharply criticized the Trump administration’s proposed rollback in ethanol volumes earlier this year." Grassley and other Republican senators announced a tentative agreement to allow year-round E15 sales in May, but the EPA didn't propose a rule change.

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to publish a rule in the coming days to allow sales of high-ethanol gasoline along with restrictions on trading biofuel credits under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The RFS dictates how much ethanol and other renewable fuels refiners must blend into gasoline each year.

"The EPA currently bans the high-ethanol blend, called E15, during the summer because of concerns that it contributes to smog on hot days, a claim ethanol industry advocates say is unfounded," Daly reports. "A bipartisan group of lawmakers, many from oil-producing states, sent Trump a letter last week opposing expanded sales of high-ethanol gas," saying it wouldn't protect refinery jobs and could damage consumers' vehicles.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2OSr1XC Trump details plan to allow E15 fuel sales in summer - Entrepreneur Generations

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