EPA warns: pumping E20 or higher into non flex-fuel cars is a Clean Air Act violation

The EPA warns that pumping E20 or E30 into a non flex-fuel vehicle was a violation of the Clean Air Act and could result in fines for retailers and consumers.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture has established a pilot program to add E20 and E30 at selected stations. The EPA said it is concerned about higher emissions resulting from using ethanol to power a gasoline engine.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture recently launched a project to offer flex-fuel vehicle owners a choice of E10, E20, E30, E50 and E85 at selected service stations, and will study the fuel efficiency.

In South Dakota, consumers are choosing now from E10, E20, E30 and E85 blends. Users have reported no incidents associated with filling non flex-fuel cars with E20 or E30 blends. Consumers have reported better fuel economy for E30 than E10, confirming a quirky result in an American Coalition for Ethanol study. Retail prices were $2.76 for regular unleaded, $2.75 for E10, $2.68 for E20 and $2.14 for E85.
A study by University of North Dakota and University of Minnesota researchers released earlier this month showed that cars achieved higher fuel efficiency compared to unleaded gasoline when running on E30.

An unrelated Department of Energy study is looking at durability and the impact of E20 or higher on small conventional engines. Dineen said he is hopeful that an application could be made next year to the EPA for permission to use higher level ethanol blends.
E20 efforts are on the rise on many fronts. USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Tom Dorr, speaking at the NAFB’s Trade Talk event, told the Brownfield Network “Everybody that wants to invest has to have assurance that we can get past this E10 blend wall. The Department of Energy … and EPA are aggressively pursuing how to get to …. E15 or and E20.”

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley recently called on President Bush to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to approve E15, E20, E30 blends. Grassley said that with E85 not gaining acceptance, the US had to find other ways to ensure a market for higher blends of ethanol.

South Dakota Senator John Thune met earlier this year with the director of President Bush’s economic council to push for an E20 mandate to increase demand for ethanol. Thune said that lack of support from automakers was unimportant compared to the importance of reducing US dependence on foreign oil.

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