ILTA Environment Committee to Address Potential RVP Waiver for E15
EPA officials recently reached out to ILTA potential RVP waivers for E15 blends. On August 31, ILTA held a briefing call for members with EPA presenting the issue and timeline for stakeholder input. Given the strong member interest demonstrated on the call, ILTA is organizing a process for the Environment Committee to discuss the proposed waiver and alternate approaches EPA could consider, and to develop an agreed industry position to communicate to EPA.
In a members-only portion of the call, ILTA members expressed concern with the potential complications to fuel distribution that would be caused by the creation of new regional specification for fuels. Members conveyed that EPA’s suggested approach could have significant impact on the liquid terminal industry, A focused effort on this issue will begin immediately. Please contact Chris Meilink (cmeilink@ilta.org) to be added to the Environment Committee distribution list to ensure you receive information about the committee’s work on this issue.
As background, a coalition of Midwest States is seeking a long-term solution to the issue of increasing the percentage of ethanol blended into fuels for the upcoming ozone control season and beyond. Specifically, in April 2022, eight Midwest Governors requested that EPA take more long-term action to promulgate a regulation applying to the Reid vapor pressure (RPV) limitation for future summer ozone control seasons. The Governors stated, that “[w]hile this emergency RVP waiver will deliver economic relief and energy security benefits in the near term, a permanent solution allowing the year-round sale of E15 is also needed for long-term certainty.” The Governors accordingly notified EPA pursuant to 211(h)(5) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), that the RVP limitation established by Section 211(h)(4) increases emissions that contribute to air pollution in their collective states.
The Governors therefore respectfully requested that EPA initiate a formal rulemaking process to issue a new regulation applying the RVP limitation established by Section 211(h)(1) of the CAA to all fuel blends containing gasoline and 10 percent ethanol that are sold, offered for sale, dispensed, supplied, offered for supply, transported, or introduced into commerce in Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin beginning with the 2023 summer ozone control season.
With questions, please contact Michael Stroud at 202-262-5875 or mstroud@ILTA.org