38 SportsTurf | July 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com
TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
ETHANOL-BLENDED FUEL REMAINS
KEY ISSUE FOR THE OPE INDUSTRY
T
he Outdoor Power Equipment Institute
(OPEI) continues to work on policy and
educational initiatives to address the
entry of mid-level ethanol blends, E15
or otherwise, into the U.S. general fuel supply.
Our members and industry remain concerned
about misfueling of outdoor power equipment
and other products, which can result in product
damage and potential safety issues. Here is an
update on legislative issues and activities.
Will EPA announce new blending require-
ments for ethanol this year?
On April 10, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) announced a proposed settlement
with the American Petroleum Institute and the
American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufactur-
ers over deadlines for issuing annual require-
ments under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)
program. Under the proposed consent decree,
EPA would issue final annual volume standards
for 2014 and 2015 by the end of this year. Al-
though not required by the consent decree, EPA
will also finalize the standards for 2016 in 2015.
The proposed consent decree does not ad-
dress the content or substance of the volume
standards, and it establishes the following
schedule:
By June 1, the agency will propose
volume requirements for 2015;
By November 30, EPA will finalize
volume requirements for 2014 and 2015 and
resolve a pending waiver petition for 2014.
EPA also announced the following:
EPA will propose and finalize the RFS
standards for 2016 on the same timeline (pro-
posal by June 1, final by November 30);
EPA will propose and finalize the RFS
biomass-based diesel volume requirement for
2017 on the same schedule; and
The agency will re-propose volume re-
quirements for 2014 that reflect the volumes of
renewable fuel that were actually used in 2014.
MAIN
IMAGE
©ISTOCKPHOTO/TRAVISMANLEY
GAS
CAN
WARNING
LABEL
IMAGE
PROVIDED
BY
THE
OUTDOOR
POWER
EQUIPMENT
INSTITUTE
(OPEI).
OPEI provides updates on legislative activity, educational initiatives
■ BY KRIS KISER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT INSTITUTE
