Minneapolis, Mar 1 - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule today to allow year-long E15 sales in several midwestern states following a petition by Midwestern governors for a reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver request for E15. The rule, however, will not take effect until 2024. 

“We appreciate the leadership of Gov. Tim Walz and the group of Midwest Governors that helped push for this long-overdue regulatory solution to provide year-round access to savings at the pump from Minnesota grown and produced biofuels. While today’s proposed action to expand access to E15 in 2024 is much-needed, EPA’s delay in approving the Governor’s petition has created immediate uncertainty for the 425 retail stations in Minnesota that sold over 100 million gallons of E15 fuel last year. We will continue advocating for a short-term solution to ensure that the sale of lower-emission, lower-priced biofuels are not needlessly interrupted this summer,” said Brian Werner, executive director at the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association. 

In April 2022, eight Midwestern governors, including Walz, asked the EPA to begin a rule making process to remove the 1-PSI RVP waiver for E10 blends, which would eliminate the current disparity between E10 and E15 and ensure E15 can be sold year-long.

In 2022, E15 sales in Minnesota breached the 100-million-gallon mark for the first time ever with 105.47 million gallons sold.