WASHINGTON, February 27, 2013 – API Downstream Group Director Bob Greco welcomed legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today by Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) that would stop EPA’s premature approval of higher levels of ethanol in gasoline, known as E15.
“This legislation is an important first step toward protecting consumers from unknowingly damaging their vehicles and voiding their warranties by using E15. EPA approved E15 before vehicle testing was complete, and we now know the fuel may cause significant mechanical problems in millions of cars on the road today. Moreover, EPA approved E15 even though government research showed potential infrastructure concerns to our nation’s gas stations that could lead to serious safety and environmental problems.”
Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and David Vitter (R-LA) have introduced similar legislation, S. 344, in the U.S. Senate.
E15 can damage engines and cause vehicles that use it to break down, even vehicles that EPA has approved to use the fuel, according to testing by the Coordinating Research Council (CRC) (here and here). Automobile manufacturers have told Congress that vehicle warranties will not cover damage due to E15. Furthermore, half of all retail station equipment in the country is incompatible with E15, according to a thorough analysis of government and independent research, conducted for API.
API is a national trade association that represents all segments of America’s technology-driven oil and natural gas industry. Its more than 500 members – including large integrated companies, exploration and production, refining, marketing, pipeline, and marine businesses, and service and supply firms – provide most of the nation’s energy. The industry also supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers $86 million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested over $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.