Whether you live on the Kansas or the Missouri side, Kansas City drivers will have more fuel choices at the pump with year-round sales of E15.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced it removed the low Reid Vapor Pressure gasoline requirements in the Kansas City metro area, which allows for E15 fuel to be sold in the area year-round.

The move brought accolades from both the Kansas Corn Growers Association and Missouri Corn Growers Association. The two organizations collaborated across state lines to get the measure through, including working with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and EPA.

Benefits to urban drivers

For the most part, Missouri and Kansas drivers outside of the Kansas City metro area are already enjoying the benefits of E15 fuel as a choice at many retailer locations. While E15 will boost air quality, it also clears the way for lower-cost fuels for Kansas City consumers. Missouri Corn and Kansas Corn will now focus on working with fuel retailers to increase the availability of E15 in the region.

“The continued work by the state agencies to reduce ozone and improve air quality for the Kansas City region makes this possible,” acting EPA Region 7 Administrator Ed Chu said in a news release. “We celebrate this accomplishment and will continue to work closely with both state agencies on all air quality and environmental issues to protect human health in Kansas City and throughout the region.”

The EPA announcement is good news for drivers, the environment and the agriculture economy in both Kansas and Missouri, according to leaders from the state corn associations.

“E15 is a cleaner-burning, more cost-effective fuel that’s good for the environment and farmers, and adds fuel choice and savings for consumers,” says Brent Rogers, the Kansas Corn Growers Association president and a farmer from Hoxie, Kan.

Jay Fischer, the Missouri Corn Growers Association president and a corn farmer from Jefferson City, Mo., adds that the decision allows drivers to fill up with “a safe, cost-effective, higher-octane, renewable fuel while helping improve air quality in the region.” He went on to thank all partners in the project for “providing sound research to open the door for E15 in the Kansas City area.”

Research tells the tale

Both Kansas Corn and Missouri Corn worked with their state agencies on modeling studies. Those studies in both states showed that no ozone exceedances are expected to occur in the Kansas City metro area due to E15 use.

Because E15 has a lower RVP than regular unleaded fuel, its use results in lower evaporative emissions, resulting in lower ozone levels — the pollutant of greatest concern in the Kansas City metro area. Blending more ethanol displaces and dilutes the most harmful hydrocarbon components in gasoline, such as aromatics.

Additionally, a recent USDA study, ethanol results in 43% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline. Increasing ethanol blending from 10% to 15% further reduces emissions.

E15 fuel is approved by EPA for use in almost every gas-powered vehicle on the road today. In fact, 97% of all miles driven are driven with vehicles approved for E15. In 2019, EPA announced it would allow year-round sales of E15 fuel, which is approved for all gas-powered vehicles for years 2001 and newer. Since then, E15 availability and sales have rapidly increased in Kansas, Missouri and across the U.S.

Source: The Missouri and Kansas Corn Growers associations, which are solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.