The Biden administration is expected to ease seasonal restrictions on blending ethanol and gasoline, but has delayed the changes until after the 2024 election to avoid soaring prices, Reuters reported.
The rule change stems from a 2022 request from the governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin that contains 15% ethanol, known as E15 gasoline. The bill would allow year-round sales of gasoline and lift the current seasonal gasoline restrictions. Regulations aimed at reducing summer smog; according to to Reuters. When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a proposal to the White House in December, it originally set the change's effective date as April 28, 2024, but it is now expected to push it back to 2025. . (Related: Biden administration seeks union support to ease electric vehicle goals: Report)
According to Reuters, major oil refiners including HF Sinclair and Phillips 66 warned against the change, saying it would complicate fuel supply logistics, increase the risk of regional shortages and potentially increase prices. are doing. The ethanol industry is lobbying for changes, saying environmental concerns are overblown.
Gasoline prices soared nationwide to an average of more than $5 per gallon in June 2022 amid supply constraints caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. according to to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Prices fell to nearly $3.10 per gallon in December 2022, but rose to just under $3.90 per gallon in August 2023.
As of February 20, the national average for a gallon of gas was $3.276. according to To AAA.
The new rule changes only affect Midwestern states, and the ethanol industry is seeking regional changes as well as national expansion, Reuters reported. A nationwide solution would reduce the risk of acreage shortages that refiners are concerned about.
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Former President Donald Trump flipped Michigan and Wisconsin, typically blue Midwestern states, in the 2016 election and came very close to winning Minnesota. According to Reuters, the new rule changes could lead to higher gas prices in battleground states such as Wisconsin and Minnesota, which have strong corn industries, and could jeopardize the president's re-election bid.
The EPA granted an emergency exemption in April 2023, and in 2024 allowed summer sales of E15 gasoline in an effort to keep gas prices down amid uncertain oil supplies due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The move was praised by the Midwest corn industry, which provides products to make the ethanol used in E15 gasoline.
The White House and EPA did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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