EPA urged to proceed with caution on higher ethanol blends

Boaters, automakers, oil executives, gas station owners and others are expressing their collective concern that the Environmental Protection Agency stands ready to approve higher ethanol levels in gasoline.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, American Petroleum Institute, Boat Owners Association of the United States, Outdoor Power Equipment Institute and other groups said EPA should base its decision on a “complete and sound scientific record.” They want the Energy Department to spend all of the $15 million recently appropriated to study the issue before a final decision is announced.

Ethanol can’t exceed 10 percent of total fuel content now. But ethanol producers have pressed the administration and Congress to raise that level to 12 or 15 percent. The 10 percent cap creates a “blend wall” that effectively caps ethanol production and discourages investment in follow-on biofuels that promise greater environmental benefits than corn-based ethanol, the industry contends.

EPA has told Growth Energy, the ethanol trade group that had petitioned the agency to raise the limit, initial tests have shown higher ethanol levels were safe. But the agency deferred a final judgment on E-15, so called because the fuel could be 15 percent ethanol, until additional tests from the Energy Department.

That decision drew a mixed response from the industry.

The groups have alternately argued that higher ethanol levels can damage engines and create safety concerns by causing engines to malfunction. Ethanol producers say higher blends levels are safe. (UPDATE: Here's a paper from Growth Energy on E-15) (UPDATE II: And here's the counterargument from the Environmental Working Group).