EPA delays ethanol blend decision until mid-2010

The Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday that it will delay its decision about raising the ethanol blend in gasoline until the middle of 2010. In a letter to ethanol lobbying group Growth Energy, EPA cited more testing being needed as the reason for the delay.

EPA said in the letter, dated Nov. 30, that preliminary studies appear to show newer automobiles could handle a 15 percent ethanol blend but more study is needed. "We continue to evaluate the question of component durability when E15 is used over many thousands of miles and there is an ongoing study being conducted by DOE [Department of Energy] that will provide critical data on this issue," EPA wrote. Wesley K. Clark, co-chairman of Growth Energy, told Kate Galbraith and Matthew L. Wald of The New York Times that the decision was “basically a positive answer,” but Bob Dinneen, chief executive of the Renewable Fuels Association said, “This delay threatens to paralyze the continued evolution of America’s ethanol industry.” (Read more)