EPA Wants SCOTUS to Stay Out of E15 Case

by Matthew Choi (Politico's Morning Energy) EPA doesn't want the Supreme Court to wade into the ongoing fight over the year-round sale of 15-percent ethanol blends in gasoline. The agency submitted a brief to the high court this week in the aftermath of a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that vacated a Trump-era rule allowing E15 to be sold year-round, writing that the appellate court's analysis didn't reflect any serious error that warrants the Supreme Court's look.

Growth Energy, a biofuels trade group, had called on the Supreme Court to review the D.C. Circuit decision. But in its brief, EPA said that while "legitimate questions exist," the court's decision "was based on a thorough application of settled statutory-interpretation principles."

Try this: Six farm and biofuel groups are ready with a remedy for EPA to establish year-round E15 without going through the courts. Instead, the groups wrote to Administrator Michael Regan on Thursday calling for the agency to set regulations requiring lower-volatility conventional gasoline blendstock in the summertime. "In the wake of the court decision, we believe this approach is a relatively simple regulatory fix EPA should pursue to achieve regulatory parity for E15 and the more common gasoline blend containing 10% ethanol," the groups wrote. READ MORE

Excerpt from Renewable Fuels Association: To facilitate year-round sales of E15 nationwide and remove arcane barriers to innovation and consumer choice in the retail fuel marketplace, six national farm and biofuel organizations have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enact regulations requiring lower-volatility conventional gasoline blendstock in the summertime. This would result in lower tailpipe and evaporative emissions during the summer ozone control season and improve air quality.

In a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, the Renewable Fuels Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmers Union, and National Sorghum Producers said reducing the volatility of gasoline by just 1 pound per square inch (psi) would yield significant environmental benefits.

Regarding air quality, the six organizations referenced and attached a new study using EPA modeling tools, showing that reducing the vapor pressure of conventional gasoline blendstock by 1 psi “…would be beneficial to air quality, as emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) would be reduced.” The study further concluded that “if the elimination of the 1-psi waiver [for E10] leads to the replacement of E10 with E15, it will also decrease greenhouse gases and particulate emissions.”

The organizations also wrote that the move would “simplify engineering of emissions control systems and help facilitate compliance with Renewable Fuel Standard requirements, with no noticeable impact on fuel costs.” They attached a new economic study showing that lowering the volatility of gasoline blendstock would impact the cost of the fuel by just 1-2 pennies per gallon.

In addition, the regulatory strategy suggested in the letter would address the Nov. 3 request from seven Midwest governors for EPA’s help to secure state-level regulatory approaches to allow the E15 blend to be made available year-round. “The approach we suggest here would be similar to that contemplated by the Governors, but rather than a state-by-state solution, the proposed regulatory fix would be nationally applicable.” READ MORE

Excerpt from Inside EPA: Even as it opposes Supreme Court review of an appeals court ruling that bars most summertime sales of 15 percent ethanol (E15) fuel, EPA is opening the door for alternative policies to continue summer sales, such as measures that would place E15 on an equal regulatory footing with ubiquitous E10 fuel in certain states. In a Dec. 8 brief filed in Growth Energy v. American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) , EPA opposes high court review of the U.S. Court... READ MORE