Last October, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said the agency would investigate whether it has the authority to allow year-round sales of E15, a goal of the ethanol industry. It’s still doing the research five months later and may find the answer soon, Pruitt told AgDay TV, when asked about possible changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard.
E15 is a prominent element in the debate that divides two parts of President Trump’s vote base — rural America and blue-collar refinery workers. Oil-state senators say the RFS must be modified to protect refinery jobs. Trump reportedly has harkened to a package that links year-round E15, supported by Farm Belt lawmakers, with a cap on the price of RINs, the credits that refiners must buy if they cannot blend enough ethanol into gasoline. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, from the No. 1 oil state, has called for the price cap for months.
Five Midwestern senators asked to meet Trump personally to discuss the RFS. No meeting was scheduled as of Monday. The senators say cheap RINs would eliminate the incentive for refiners to blend ethanol, damaging corn growers.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told AgDay TV that “we’ve got some tough choices” ahead. He said, “The president has to balance the whole economy.” Perdue supported year-round sale of E15, a 15 percent blend of ethanol into gasoline. At present, EPA bars sale during the summer.
In a separate interview with AgDay, Pruitt said EPA was evaluating statutory language to determine if it can waive the summer prohibition. Ethanol is more likely to evaporate during warm weather and could be viewed as a pollutant. “It isn’t a matter of preference…it’s a matter of whether the statute permits that kind of decision.”
“There are other things that we are evaluating,” he said, involving high and fluctuating RINs prices.
To watch the AgDay video of Pruit and Perdue, click here.