URGE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION TO BAR E15 GAS

URGE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION TO BAR E15 GAS The US Defenders (www.usdefenders.org) issued a Call To Action on October 26, 2013 calling for support of House Resolution 1462 “to Stop the Sale of Ethanol 15 (E15).”

The bipartisan RFS Reform Act would “eliminate the corn-based ethanol mandate currently required by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), reduce the overall requirements of cellulosic ethanol not filled by other advanced bio-fuels, and rescind the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waivers allowing gasoline blends containing up to 15-percent of ethanol.”

Introduced by Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Steve Womack (R-AR), and Peter Welch (D-VT), H.R. 1462 would effectively overhaul the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) which mandates that 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels be part of our nation's fuel supply by 2022, almost all of which being fulfilled by corn ethanol which in turn diverts nearly 40% of our nation’s corn crop from food and feed.

Congress created the RFS program in 2005 to promote the ethanol industry by setting the minimum amount of renewable fuel that must be blended into motor fuels annually. E10 (10% ethanol blend) has become widely accepted and helped kickstart the ethanol industry, but in 2010 the EPA approved E15 for use in newer vehicles even though many automobile manufacturers claim its use can damage engines and void warranties, and no motorcycles or ATVs are currently approved to use the alcohol-laden fuel.

Rep. Goodlatte has also introduced the RFS Elimination Act (H.R.1461), “which eliminates the RFS altogether and makes ethanol compete in a free market.” Both the RFS Elimination Act and the RFS Reform Act have been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Meanwhile, on November 15, the EPA recommended reducing the total amount of ethanol required by the RFS to be blended into U.S. transportation fuel nationwide in 2014 from 18.15 billion gallons down to 15.21 bg, though the move to reduce the minimum volume of renewable fuel next year does not provide a permanent solution to the inflexible short-term mandates nor the long-term diversion of feed stocks to fuel.