Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Reagan confirms he is having regular discussions with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in evaluating what flexibilities the Biden administration has around allowing for year-round E15 use in order to lower fuel costs for consumers.

As gas prices across the country hit historic highs, higher blends like E15 have been selling for, in some instances, more than 50 cents cheaper per gallon. But without action from the Biden administration, E15 will no longer be available starting June 1.

During testimony before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Reagan confirmed in a line of questioning from Sen. Join Ernst, R-Iowa, that he and Vilsack are evaluating what Clean Air Act authorities the administration could potentially take advantage of to reinstate E15 use during the summertime.

Recently, Senators John Thune, R-S.D., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked President Biden in a letter to allow the sale of E15 over the 2022 driving season, arguing the added ethanol would deliver lower costs to consumers. A bipartisan group of 29 House members has also urged the President to ensure E15 and higher blends are available year-round either by using EPA’s authority or by “taking action to respond to a potential energy crisis triggered by Russian aggression on the international stage.”

The current excess ethanol capacity domestically is nearly the same as the amount of Russian gas the U.S. had been importing, which is roughly 83 million barrels compared to 87 million barrels. If the U.S. replaced just one-third of regular E10 fuel sales with E15, it would fully replace all gasoline from previously imported Russian oil.

Action needed now to allow E15 sales to continue

In early March, Growth Energy, the Advanced Biofuels Business Council, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmers Union and the Renewable Fuels Association, wrote to President Biden urging his administration to use existing authority to allow for the year-round sale of E15.

Related: Are biofuels the answer to Russia-induced gas prices? 

“There’s a record surplus of lower-cost, domestic biofuels ready to more than fill the void left by Russian oil. E15 has already been helping some drivers save more than 30 cents a gallon. Given the steady discount on ethanol against unblended gasoline, biofuels are a source of energy security and savings the White House cannot afford to ignore,” the groups state.

Growth Energy has also supported the Home Front Energy Independence Act, legislation that would immediately allow the year-round sale of E15. Growth Energy recently launched an ad campaign in Washington, D.C. urging President Biden’s EPA turn to biofuels to lower gas prices.

In July 2021, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, and the Supreme Court upheld in January 2022, that the EPA’s 2019 regulation allowing year-round sales of E15 should be vacated, finding that the EPA exceeded its authority by extending the existing E10 volatility waiver to E15.

RFA says several pathways exist for the White House and EPA to allow for year-round E15 outside of the legislative process, but “time is running short,” says RFA President Geoff Cooper.

RFA released a new analysis that found sales of E15-blended gasoline hit a record 814 million gallons in 2021. The 2021 volume represented a 62% increase over the prior year and was nearly double pre-pandemic sales volumes in 2019. However, RFA notes, this success and growth trajectory are at risk unless the Biden administration moves quickly to avoid the reimposition of restrictions on summertime E15 sales.

“Now more than ever, E15 is needed to help keep gas prices in check, bolster energy security, support the rural economy, and lower emissions of greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants,” Cooper says. “Fuel retailers agree, and they have also called for year-round E15 because their customers want continued access to the lowest-cost, lowest-carbon option available at the pump.”

In RFA’s analysis, RFA Chief Economist Scott Richman extrapolated results from two key states that report E15 sales volumes, Iowa and Minnesota, to the national marketplace, and cites three likely factors leading to the record volume for 2021: an increase in the number of stations that offer the blend; the recovery in overall fuel consumption toward pre-pandemic levels starting in the late spring; and a rebound in the price of credits used to show compliance with the federal Renewable Fuel Standard.

“Expanded use of ethanol in E15 could go a long way toward replacing the gasoline from Russian imports,” Richman writes, “but if restrictions on E15 return this summer as scheduled, sales could go into reverse, further tightening fuel supplies and putting upward pressure on gasoline prices.”

Increasing E15 access in Iowa

The Iowa Department of Revenue recently released the 2021 Retailers Fuel Gallons Annual Report. The report highlighted all-time record E15 sales in Iowa in 2021, totaling nearly 87 million gallons. This broke the previous record by 43.4%.  Additionally, Iowa fuel retailers sold a record amount of E100 through higher blends at the pump in 2021. Combined sales of E15, E85 and mid-level ethanol-blended fuel in 2021 added up to 28.4 million gallons, a 26% increase over previous records.

“The growth in demand and use of E15 in Iowa is exciting, especially as we are working on the Biofuels Access Bill to expand the availability of E15 across the state,” says Lance Lillibridge, a farmer from Vinton and president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association. “Drivers are looking for more affordable fuel, and E15 and higher blends were not only the answer in 2021 but continue to be the solution for savings at the pump today.”

The report also showed that of the 1,645 Iowa retail locations, 95% reported selling at least one type of ethanol blend. Of those 1,571 stations offering ethanol-blended fuels, 304 sold E15 and 286 reported selling E85.

The Iowa Corn Growers Association continues to advocate for the Biofuels Access Bill as a top priority. The bill will increase consumer choice at the pump by making E15 an option at many fuel stations across Iowa, with an increase in funding for the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program to $10 million per year for retailers.

However, concerns have existed from fuel retailers with the Iowa bill as it would force retailers to be out of compliance with federal statutes in order to implement the bill.