Iowa Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson is pressuring the administration to authorize an emergency summer E15 waiver.
Speaking on this week’s Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, Hinson criticized the March approval of the governors' petition to allow year-round E15 use in eight Midwest states beginning in 2024 as being “frankly, too late."
"We need that certainty for this summer,” Hinson said.
Hinson and other members of Congress have written the Biden administration asking for a waiver from the fuel volatility regulation that is preventing summertime E15 sales.
Last year, President Joe Biden issued an executive action on April 12, 2022, to allow the change. The EPA cited concerns earlier this month that the current timeline likely won't allow enough time for implementation this summer.
“This administration has an unhealthy obsession with electric vehicles,” Hinson said. “They need to stop dragging their feet on these ethanol-related issues because this is about doing the right thing for consumers and doing the right thing for agriculture at the same time.”
Without EPA action, Congress would have to pass legislation to make the change, which industry officials say needs to happen before the beginning of May to ensure the fuel can be sold at the beginning of June.
Alexa Combelic of the American Soybean Association and Joe Kakesh with Growth Energy also appeared on the show to discuss the role of the EPA in allowing E15 use this summer and market development for renewable biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel.
Watch this week’s episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.
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