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Year-round E15 sales approval could be December

As the summer driving season winds down, a state biofuels group says approval for year-round E15 sales may be delayed until the winter.

“We hear through various conversations that we will have answer before December.”

Renewable Fuels Nebraska Executive Director Dawn Caldwell says any delay creates unnecessary uncertainty. “The greatest thing that we see is whether it’s for farmers and the ethanol plants that buy grain from those farmers knowing what volume of product they need to make for this next year, all of them want to run full out. They want to have a market for their product and for that farmer’s grain.

She tells Brownfield it also has an impact on retailers and consumers. “We want to be 100% respectful to the midstream pipelines, to the oil and gas companies. They have to have things set up and ready in a timely fashion to be able to push that product through the pipeline.”

A petition from eight Midwestern governors and a lawsuit from two states is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to approve that blend of fuel.  However, the EPA has not approved the regulation after the petition was submitted more than a year ago.