Growth Energy filed a petition in the United States Supreme Court asking the Court to review a D.C. Circuit Court opinion in the case of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers vs. the EPA. In that case, the D.C. Circuit Court vacated a 2019 EPA rule allowing year-round sales of a 15 percent ethanol fuel blend.
The court’s decision overturned the EPA’s interpretation of a provision of the Clean Air Act that extended a waiver of limits on Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP), a measure of fuel volatility, to E15. Growth Energy argues that the decision did not give proper deference to EPA, contradicted Congressional intent in promoting renewable fuels, and would suppress the expansion of higher-blend renewable fuels in the future.
“In 2019, EPA paved the way for the sale of E15 year-round,” says Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “Its decision was not only a win for the biofuels industry, our ag partners, and rural America but the environment and all drivers nationwide.”
Skor also says low-carbon biofuels like ethanol burn cleaner and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent compared to regular gasoline. “We’re asking the Supreme Court to review this decision because it is not in line with important court precedent on statutory interpretation and because of its detrimental environmental impacts,” Skor adds.