Washington, D.C. - Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, issued the following statement today after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its new label for E15.
"Today the EPA introduced a new orange and black warning label for E-15 blends that will be located at any pump in the United States that dispenses E-15," Senator Inhofe said. "The good news is that Oklahomans, who have a strong dislike of E-15, have little to worry about because E-15 isn't coming to Oklahoma any time in the near future. The reasons are straightforward. Retailers will not sell E-15 because of substantial fuel tank and dispensing infrastructure costs, as well as liability issues associated with misfueling and potential engine damage.
"Opposition to federal ethanol policy in Congress is
growing. This shouldn't come as a surprise due to ethanol's incompatibility with existing engines, its sustainability, as well as its transportation and infrastructure needs. These serious problems will be exacerbated as the blend wall forces EPA to make bad decisions in order to accommodate the large volumes of ethanol the Renwable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandates in our gasoline.
"Fortunately, there is a viable solution. I recently introduced the
Fuel Feedstock Freedom Act-a bill that gives individual States the option not to participate in the corn ethanol portion of the RFS. It would allow markets to supply consumers with the fuels they prefer."
