WASHINGTON, DC — Since first filing the Green Jobs waiver for E15 in 2009, Growth Energy has been working extensively with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to meet the waiver conditions and get E15 into the marketplace. Today, the EPA has announced a solution to address specific concerns raised about a 4-gallon minimum fueling requirement for E15 and consumer misfueling. After the EPA’s announcement, Tom Buis CEO of Growth Energy released the following statement:
“Since Growth Energy filed the Green Jobs waiver we have been working diligently with EPA on bringing E15 to the marketplace and expanding market access for a cleaner burning, homegrown American fuel to address the blend wall and increase ethanol blends from 10 to 15 percent.
“However, there have been numerous legal and regulatory hurdles established by special interest groups and oil companies who want to maintain the status quo of our dependence on foreign oil. This process has been like the county fair game, ‘whack-a-mole,’ each time we take care of one challenge, five more pop up.
“Today’s announcement is another hurdle cleared and helps definitively prove that we are going to succeed in bringing E15 to the marketplace. It is the most tested fuel ever and has been approved for all vehicles and light duty trucks, model year 2001 and newer, making up nearly 70 percent of the vehicles on the road today.
“I am pleased that EPA has responded to industry and retailer concerns about requiring a four gallon minimum fueling purchase and am confident that the EPA’s announcement today will give retailers the flexibility they need, as well as help expand the national marketplace for E15.
“E15 will reduce consumer prices at the pump, improve our environment, reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil and will create additional good-paying American jobs. Getting E15 into the marketplace is a win-win for consumers, and today’s announcement is a substantial step in accomplishing the goal Growth Energy set out to achieve nearly four years ago.
“I, along with all of the members and staff at Growth Energy look forward to continuing our work with the EPA to help increase the use of sustainable and renewable energy as well as increased ethanol blends that benefit our economy, our energy and national security as well as our environment.”
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About Growth Energy
Growth Energy represents the producers and supporters of ethanol who feed the world and fuel America in ways that achieve energy independence, improve economic well-being and create a healthier environment for all Americans now. For more information, please visit us at www.GrowthEnergy.org, follow us on Twitter @GrowthEnergy or connect with us on Facebook.