Nebraska Corn supportive of E15 waiver, further actions to lower pump prices

The Nebraska Corn Board (NCB) and Nebraska Corn Growers Association (NeCGA), collectively known as Nebraska Corn, are thankful U.S. drivers will have continued access to E15. Today President Joe Biden announced the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would issue a national, emergency waiver to allow the fuel to be sold this summer. Without the waiver, retailers would’ve been unable to sell E15 from June 1 through Sept. 15 across most of the country.

“This action offers immediate and substantial price relief to American consumers,” said Jay Reiners, chairman of NCB and farmer from Juniata, “but we need continued and fair access to E15 at the pump. We urge EPA to modify the existing E15 warning label and explore all options for permanent, year-round E15 use.”

The White House noted in a press release it would consider modifications to E15 fuel pump labeling, currently an orange and black sticker that denotes a higher ethanol content. The EPA has said E15 is safe in vehicles 2001 and newer, the overwhelming majority of cars on the road today. E15 is consistently priced well below regular gas.

Without federal legislation, E15 would require another waiver next year to be sold during the 2023 summer months.

“This illustrates why we’ve advocated strongly for the Next Generation Fuels Act (NGFA),” said Andy Jobman, president of NeCGA and farmer from Gothenburg. “The NGFA would provide immediate access to E15 across the country and put us on a path to E25, a much cleaner and more sustainable fuel.”

The NGFA has been introduced in the House and has bi-partisan support including all of Nebraska’s House delegation.