E15 WAIVER PITCHED 4/15/24 The
two US Senate whips led a bipartisan group of their colleagues pushing for
swift action in approving another summertime E15 sales waiver. In
a letter to the Biden administration, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, said permitting the sale of gasoline blended
with up to 15% ethanol from June 1st to September 15th
will help the energy supply chain address extreme and unusual fuel supply
circumstances caused by the war in Ukraine. The
administration previously approved petitions for year-round E15 sales in eight
states, including Illinois, but delayed the move until 2025, meaning a
nationwide waiver is needed for E15 sales this summer. Extending
the nationwide sale of E15 could again add billions of gallons of ethanol to
the fuel supply at a time domestic inventories of crude oil and petroleum
products are at their lowest point since May 2004, the senators wrote. Stakeholders,
including the National Corn Growers Association, Renewable Fuels Association
and Growth Energy, commended the push. Pressure
has been building for an emergency summertime waiver this year since the rule
allowing year-round sales in the Midwest was announced in February. Biofuel
and ag groups, including American Farm Bureau Federation, last month also
called on the US Environmental Protection Agency to issue an E15 emergency
waiver. Taking
the US EPA’s final rule a step further, a handful of US House members from
Illinois signed onto a letter last month requesting a legislative solution
allowing for voluntary sale of E15 year-round nationwide.