WASHINGTON – A unique coalition of farmers, petroleum refiners and fuel retailers worked together to move H.R. 1346, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, through the U.S. House of Representatives on May 13. This bill, if signed into law, would allow for the year-round sale of E15 fuel, which is currently limited by seasonal marketing regulatory restrictions within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Brandon Hunt, a farmer from Herndon, Ky. and director for both the Kentucky and National Corn Growers Associations, commented, “The 218-203 vote demonstrates a rare occurrence these days of bipartisanship, both for those who supported and opposed. For Republicans, 122 voted Yes and 90 voted No; on the Democratic side, 95 voted Yes and 113 voted No. It’s refreshing to see Congress behave in this way: debating and voting on the merits of a bill, and its impact to their constituents, rather than a bullet point on a partisan-derived positions list. The vote count also blurred lines of urban and rural Congressional districts, indicating the bill will generate interesting debate as it moves to the Senate.”
Josh Lancaster, a farmer from Slaughters, Ky. and past president of the Kentucky Corn Growers Association, said, “I am happy that our efforts on behalf of the American row crop farmer are finally seeing progress on this initiative. It consumed my entire presidency at Kentucky Corn Growers. If we can get year-round E15 on President Trump’s desk for a signature, we know he will sign it. President Trump, Vice President Vance and Secretary Rollins are all publicly pleading to have this bill sent to them to sign for American farmers.
“We know it will have a meaningful positive profitability impact on a typical Kentucky row-crop farmer who is in a corn/soybean or corn/wheat/soybean rotation. I am so proud and thankful that our entire Congressional Delegation voted yes to get this through to the Senate. We needed each of them. I feel the vote count was closer than it should have been; I am somewhat disheartened by that because this bill clearly impacts farmers in a positive way.”
The legislation seeks to amend the Clean Air Act relating to evaporative emissions regulations for ethanol fuel blends between E10 and E15. That change is sought to provide permanent regulatory certainty for gas stations to make decisions on whether to invest in dispensing infrastructure to provide E15 fuel choices to their customers. Full adoption by fuel retailers of this new option would equate to 2.4 billion additional bushels of corn grind.
In locations that retailers already offer the fuel, consumers have purchased it for price discounts as great as a dollar per gallon. E15’s national average discount is currently 10 to 30 cents per gallon compared to 87 regular gasoline, because of the dramatic cost difference between the ethanol ingredient and petroleum ingredient. Growth Energy estimates the impact of this bill to be a savings of more than $20.6 billion annually to American drivers.
From a vehicle performance standpoint, the difference in gas mileage between the fuel options is characterized as “unnoticeable” by supporters of this policy. To assert that claim, they reference a University of California Riverside study published in 2023 of legacy cars and light-duty trucks that was completed for the California Air Resources Board to aid in their decision to adjust California’s fuel regulations. The study measured fuel economy differences across the testing group of 20 vehicles, varied in model year, to be less than a one-percent reduction in fuel economy, with some vehicles experiencing a fuel economy increase.
E15 fuel has been proven safe for vehicles and better for the environment. EPA has certified its use in every vehicle model that has been manufactured over the last 25 years. Throughout the past decade that E15 has been on the market as a boutique fuel, but only seasonally, fuel sales records indicate that over 5 billion miles have been powered, nationally, using E15 fuel. No legitimate claims of engine damage have been documented. America’s fleet of new cars, essentially in a uniform nature, have been warrantied for using fuel containing 15% ethanol for several years.
Consumers say they want it. Through polling for Renewable Fuels Association conducted by Morning Consult, 71% of respondents said they support the increased availability of E15. Respondents said the reasons for their position were to help lower fuel prices, clean the air and support US energy independence.
Regarding the environment, ethanol reduces tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions by 46% compared to gasoline. If this bill prompted a complete transition from E10 to E15, nationally, it would equate to removing 17.62 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions from cars’ tailpipes.
The bill also would streamline a critical provision within the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) relating to the compliance mechanism for refiners. H.R. 1346 removes a loophole for Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs) that supporters say has been exploited throughout the 20-year history of the RFS.
“This portion of the bill drew some controversy because it was characterized as picking winners and losers within the RFS” Adam Andrews, Programs Director for Kentucky Corn, explained, “but adjustments to right-size the SRE program are necessary to provide certainty to refiners’ decision-making process and streamline a heavily litigated program. For nearly a decade E15 legislation has taken many forms, many of which have included politically necessary compromises. This latest version is no different. Common sense SRE reform helped this bill advance through the House. Meanwhile, real threats to significantly harm the RFS via this negotiation were snuffed out.”
Andrews continued, “Over 90% of the liquid fuel value chain, a coalition of the country’s largest refiners to the smallest refiners, support this change. Several refiners that make up the opposing 10% are foreign-owned, mid-level Fortune 500 companies masquerading as small refiners who would lose their loophole. The change will have major impacts to restore integrity of the RFS. Without reform of the SRE program to level the playing field for obligated parties, the RFS will continue to be the petroleum industry’s primary target for elimination, and an SRE program fix softens that position. Bottom line, the SRE provisions in this bill provide more certainty and security to farmers who provide feedstock to both corn ethanol and soybean-based biodiesel.”