Last week, President Trump announced that he is “very close” to allowing the sale of 15 percent ethanol blended fuel, or E15, year-round. NMMA has worked closely with the administration and Congress regarding the recreational boating industry’s problems with higher ethanol additives in gasoline.
In response, NMMA’s President, Thom Dammrich, stated, “President Trump’s pledge to allow the year-round sale of E15 will needlessly put consumers in danger, including the 142 million American boaters that take to the water every year. There’s a reason that previous proposals to expand the sale of E15 have failed – it’s simply bad policy.”
Dammrich continued, “Unfortunately, most consumers don’t know about the risks of high-ethanol fuel blends like E15 and expanding sales into the summer months will only do more harm. Sixty-five percent of people assume that any gas sold at retail gas stations is safe for all their products, when in fact federal regulation prohibits E15 use in small engines. These engines – like those in boats, lawn mowers, and motorcycles – suffer immediate damage when fueled with blends exceeding 10 percent ethanol, thus voiding their warrantees and saddling consumers with high repair and replacement costs.
“We need to educate the public about the hazards of misfuelling before we even begin thinking about expanding E15 sales. Fortunately, Representative Lois Frankel (D-FL-21) and Representative Austin Scott (R-GA-08) have introduced the Consumer Protection and Fuel Transparency Act of 2018. This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise the labeling requirements for ethanol fuel blends exceeding 10 percent and implement a consumer education campaign to raise awareness. NMMA is calling on all members of Congress to support this important legislation.
“Expanding E15 sales before sufficient consumer protections are in places is reckless. We urge President Trump and the EPA to increase transparency in labeling requirements for fuel blends exceeding 10 percent and create an education campaign to put an end to misfuelling – millions of Americans are counting on it.”
NMMA is continuing to be loud on this issue and is addressing the industry’s concerns head on. For more information, please contact NMMA Senior Vice President of Government and Legal Affairs, Nicole Vasilaros at nvasilaros@nmma.org or NMMA Director of Federal Affairs, Michael Pasko at mpasko@nmma.org.
