News

Senators seek path forward from Pruitt on year-round E15

A bipartisan group of Senators from the Corn Belt is asking the head of the EPA to clarify how the agency will make the changes needed to allow higher ethanol blends into the marketplace.

In their letter to Scott Pruitt, the senators refer to President Trump’s announcement last month that his administration will allow E15 to consumers all year. To do that, the senators point out, the EPA must resolve the RVP (Reid Vapor Pressure) issue. They say the RVP waiver was never intended to be a market cap on the amount of ethanol blended in gasoline and the current interpretation is a regulatory barrier to E15 that must change.

The lawmakers are asking Administrator Pruitt “to provide immediate clarity” to allow higher ethanol blends to be sold while the outdated regulation is being changed.

Letter signed by: Senators in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas, as well as Senators Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.