The Renewable Fuel Standard proposal announced on May 29 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would increase the risk of misfueling for motorcyclists and all-terrain-vehicle owners by forcing the widespread availability of higher-ethanol fuel blends, such as E15.
Act now by signing the American Motorcyclist Association’s petition to voice your concern.
The EPA proposed setting the renewable fuel standard for 2014 at the levels that were actually produced and used, which totaled 15.93 billion gallons. But for 2015, the standard rises to 16.3 billion gallons. And for 2016, the total increases again, to 17.4 billion gallons.
By increasing the amounts of ethanol into America’s gasoline marketplace, the EPA will exceed the blend wall by hundreds of millions of gallons! The blend wall is the point at which no more ethanol can be blended without creating higher blends like E15 and above.
This means ethanol blends of 15 percent or higher likely will become more prevalent because of this proposed rule.
However, in a regulatory announcement released Aug. 6, 2013, “EPA Finalizes Renewable Fuel Standards,” the EPA said that for 2014 “the ability of the market to consume ethanol in higher blends such as E85 is highly constrained as a result of infrastructure -- and market-related factors. EPA does not currently foresee a scenario in which the market could consume enough ethanol sold in blends greater than E10…”
The EPA is pushing higher ethanol limits despite its own acknowledgment that the market cannot consume these higher amounts due to “infrastructure and market-related factors.”
That’s when the U.S. Department of Agriculture comes to the rescue. On the same day the EPA announced its proposed rule, the USDA unveiled a $100 million plan to double the number of higher-blend renewable-fuel pumps. Under the blender pump subsidy program, the USDA will administer competitive grants to match funding for state-led efforts to test and evaluate innovative and comprehensive approaches to market higher blends of renewable fuel, such as E15 and E85.
The EPA calls for higher ethanol blended fuels and the USDA spends taxpayer dollars to make it happen, despite knowing that none of the estimated 22 million motorcycles and ATVs in use in the United States is approved to use E15 or higher ethanol blends. Using those fuels in motorcycles and ATVs is illegal and may cause engine and fuel system damage and void the manufacturer's warranty.
The EPA opened a comment period to allow the public to voice their opinion on the proposed rule. The AMA has the tools to make it easy for you to submit comments by signing our petition.
The AMA will submit every name and address with our comments to the EPA. There is nothing more powerful than thousands of riders joining to express their concern with unsafe fuel for their rides.
Thousands of riders like you join the AMA to unite for a common goal – to protect our freedom to ride. As an AMA member, you will stand with hundreds of thousands of advocates nationwide fighting anti-motorcycling forces that threaten our right to ride and race. That’s why the AMA is where you belong. Visit www.AMAJoin.com or call (800) AMA-JOIN today. Please follow the AMA on Twitter @AMA_Rights and like us on Facebook.
