Environmental groups and oil refining states team up to fight E15 ethanol

You wouldn’t expect to see Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso siding with the left-wing climate group Earthjustice, but the two share a mission: stopping Congress from passing legislation allowing the year-round sale of E15 ethanol.

The measure moved to the Senate after a bitter battle in the House, where it passed by a vote of 218 to 203 on May 13.

Support was bipartisan, as was opposition.

The bill would codify into federal law the year-round sale of gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol — a corn-derived biofuel that is typically sold in a 10 percent blend at almost all gas stations.

For more than a decade, corn-producing states have competed for year-round sales of E15.

But they have been blocked in part by environmental groups who say higher quality ethanol would increase smog and in Congress by a coalition of lawmakers from Wyoming, Louisiana, Oklahoma and other states dependent on the oil refinery sector that would be negatively impacted by higher ethanol sales.

Mr. Barrasso, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate whose job is to marshal votes to pass legislation, does not support the ethanol bill passed by the House.

Wyoming is home to several small refineries that employ thousands of people. Year-round availability of premium ethanol would require refineries to pay for costly infrastructure upgrades or purchase costly compliance credits.

“I oppose it because it hurts small refineries and all the people across the country who work in those small refineries,” Mr. Barrasso said.

Environmental groups, no friend of the oil refining industry, have joined the fight against year-round sales of E15, warning that premium ethanol increases air pollution and will lead to the expansion of croplands.

The bill permanently lifts a summer ban on E15 sales, in place for years, due to concerns that the higher concentration of ethanol in gasoline tanks could contribute to smog.

The increased availability of E15 gasoline would lead to increased corn production, which could be great news for farmers but bad for the climate, environmental groups say.

“Globally, land conversion for corn ethanol production typically releases about twice the carbon saved from reduced gasoline tailpipe emissions over a 30-year period,” environmental advocates warned in a letter signed by Earthjustice Action, Sierra Club and other anti-fossil fuel groups.

The two opposing camps hope that their shared opposition to year-round sales of E15 will prevent the bill from passing the Senate. So far, senators from oil-producing states oppose it.

The chamber’s leading opponent of fossil fuels, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, is expected to join lawmakers from oil-producing states in voting against the bill due to smog and other environmental concerns.

The measure divides the two parties.

While Mr. Barrasso is adamantly opposed to the House-passed ethanol bill, Majority Leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, is determined to pass it in the Senate.

Agriculture is South Dakota’s No. 1 industry, and corn production for ethanol is the primary crop.

He acknowledged the formidable opposition from his own Republican conference.

“It’s harder here,” Mr. Thune told the Washington Times. “But we will work on it.”

Supporters of year-round sales of E15 were able to advance the measure halfway through Congress, thanks to the recent surge in gasoline prices caused by the war in Iran. Gasoline now sells for an average of $4.52 per gallon.

The price per gallon of E15 gasoline, often labeled 88 unleaded, is 10 to 40 cents less per gallon, said Rep. Zach Nunn, Republican of Iowa.

“It’s not a mandate. It removes a regulatory barrier,” he said.

More than 3,500 gas stations in 31 states sell E15 gasoline, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. It is intended for cars manufactured in 2001 or later and should not be used in boats, lawn mowers, or other gasoline-powered equipment.

The measure passed the House with the help of lawmakers from agricultural districts that have been hit hard by retaliatory trade barriers and the war in Iran, which has increased the cost of fertilizer.

In Minnesota, the state’s corn farmers have pushed for E15 to be sold year-round to ensure “stable and predictable demand” for corn-based ethanol, said Rep. Michelle Fishbach, Republican of Minnesota.

If the measure is approved by Congress and signed into law, it would increase national corn consumption by 2.4 billion bushels.

“Year-round E15 is a massive win for the American farmer,” Ms. Fishbach said.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, has been pushing to allow year-round sales of E15 gasoline since the EPA approved the blend in 2011. He told the Times he thinks the most viable path to getting there is to attach it to must-pass legislation, like a spending bill or the annual farm bill.

The momentum to get it through Congress is finally on his side, Grassley said.

“This is our opportunity to make this happen,” he said.