ACE calls on Biden to intervene on Midwest E15 waiver rule

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has called on US President Joe Biden to ensure the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promptly finalises its proposed regulation to eliminate the 1-pound per square inch (psi) Reid vapour pressure (RVP) waiver for petroleum containing 10% ethanol (E10) in eight states.
In a letter to President Biden, ACE CEO Brian Jennings outlined how “what should have been a straightforward undertaking by EPA to approve a petition submitted by eight governors on April 28, 2022, allowing retailers in their states to sell E15 year-round, has unfortunately turned into a 16-month odyssey.”
ACE thanked President Biden for directing EPA to invoke its emergency authority this summer and in 2022 to issue temporary fuel waivers allowing continued sales of E15 to prevent fuel supply shortages which could have raised prices at the pump for millions of Americans.
The letter referred to EPA’s multiple delays during the regulatory process of this rule.
EPA was required to act by July 27, 2022 by law, but did not issue a proposed rule until March 6 – 249 days after the legal deadline.
“EPA issued a proposed rule to grant the Governors’ petition but also used its own tardiness to postpone sale of E15 year-round until April 28, 2024,” Jennings said in the letter. “An additional 161 days have passed, and EPA appears no closer to complying with the law and approving the Governors’ request.”
Jennings also mentioned Iowa and Nebraska Attorney Generals’ lawsuit to compel the Agency to take final action, adding we are 410 days into a 90-day deadline. “States should not have to resort to suing EPA to do its job,” the letter stated.