By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
 SEMA-supported legislation (HR 1315) has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to cap the amount of ethanol that can be blended into conventional gasoline at 10% and prohibit the sale of E15. |
SEMA-supported legislation (HR 1315) has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to cap the amount of ethanol that can be blended into conventional gasoline at 10% and prohibit the sale of E15 (gasoline with 15% ethanol).
The bill would also eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) mandate that 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into the U.S. fuel supply each year. While the RFS was intended to reduce the nation’s dependency on foreign oil, the 2007 law has translated into ever-increasing corn production so that the ethanol byproduct can be blended into gasoline. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has turned to sales of E15 to achieve the law’s artificial mandate. Ethanol, especially in higher concentrations, such as E15, can cause metal corrosion and dissolve certain plastics and rubbers in automobiles produced before 2001 that were not constructed with ethanol-resistant materials.
SEMA has joined with more than 50 other organizations from the auto/boat industries to the food, energy and environmental community to support passage of the legislation. Tell your lawmakers to support HR 1315 by sending them a letter.
For details, contact Eric Snyder at erics@sema.org.