Biden announces E15 summer waiver
U.S. President Joe Biden announced the EPA would issue a national emergency waiver closer to June that will allow for the summer sales of E15. The EPA is also considering additional action to allow for the use of E15 year-round, the White House said. The Biden order is an emergency action that must be reviewed every 20 days. It is not a permanent regulatory change.
Some analysts think the E15 announcement is much ado about little. They note the sparse number of gas pumps in place to sell E15, and most of those are in the Midwest, whereas gas consumption is heavier in the east and west coasts, where there are far fewer E15 pumps. Only about 2,300 of the nation’s more than 150,000 stations now sell E15, and though it is available in roughly 30 states, the fuel is most widely offered in the Midwest.
The oil industry was critical of the announcement. The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) industry group questioned whether the expansion of E15 sales was lawful, arguing the EPA waiver being used is reserved for specific unforeseen events, such as hurricanes.
An EPA FAQ page on fuel waivers stresses they “cannot be issued to address concerns regarding the price of fuel.” But White House officials characterized the decision as “yet another action that the president is taking to combat Putin’s price hike.”
The courts struck down a prior bid by Biden's predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, in 2019 to extend a waiver that allowed year-round sales of E15. However, some note that Trump’s approach was a permanent regulatory change.
The officials that reviewed Biden's announcement said his administration would use a different "approach" and "authority" than Trump but did not offer details.
