An effort in Iowa to change labeling requirements on gas pumps across the state to only require labeling for unblended gasoline and E85 officially died when the legislature adjourned for the year. SEMA actively opposed the bill. Current law in Iowa requires labeling when gasoline is blended with any amount of ethanol. If the bill had been enacted into law, it would have removed labeling requirements for ethanol-blended gasoline containing 15% or less ethanol, thereby increasing the risk of misfueling and potential engine damage.
Unblended gas is required to be labeled, but no guarantee was made that unblended gas would be available. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been urged to create national labeling requirements for ethanol-blended gasoline that are placed as close as possible to the pump’s product selection mechanism, but since such requirements are not currently in place, vehicle owners must rely on state labeling requirements for information about the gasoline they use in their vehicles. Many products in the marketplace, including older cars, use materials that are incompatible with ethanol.
For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.