Rounds: Bipartisan E-15 Legislation Benefits Consumers, Corn Producers Alike
By Continuing to Allow E-15 Gasoline to be Sold During the Summer Months, Bill Would Increase Markets for South Dakota Producers and Increase Consumer Choice at the Pump
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today at a hearing discussed the Consumer and Fuel Retailers Choice Act, which would extend the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver and lift the summertime ban on E-15 gasoline. Doing so would provide regulatory certainty and increase economic opportunity for business owners who sell E-15 and other higher-ethanol/gasoline fuel blends.
“The corn industry in the state of South Dakota has a huge amount of support among our population,” said Rounds at the hearing. “As the market for ethanol increases, the market for corn will grow, and that means more jobs and increased revenue for corn farmers, many of whom work on their own family-owned farms.”
“This particular legislation that’s in front of us, where we go from 10 to 15 [percent ethanol allowed in gasoline], don’t you think that what we’re really doing is just taking out a whole lot of red tape so that we can sell [the same] product throughout the year?”
The Consumer and Fuel Retailers Choice Act would grant a one-pound per square inch ethanol waiver for applicable RVP limitations for fuel blends containing more than 10 percent ethanol between June 1 and September 15. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently prohibits E-15 fuel sales in non-flex fuel vehicles during the summer months when most driving occurs due to fuel volatility limits. Rounds is a cosponsor of this legislation which was introduced by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.).
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