Court denies E15 challenge

WASHINGTON—A federal appeals court has upheld a decision to keep an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that permits the sale of E15, or gasoline with up to 15 percent ethanol, The Hill reports. The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) and other trade groups sued the EPA in 2010, saying E15 would harm engines. In August the court said the trade groups couldn’t show they had suffered specific harm from E15. This week’s decision by the The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld that ruling.

“It is regrettable that the court is insisting to see personal or economic injury before they can take action,” said Kris Kiser, president and CEO of OPEI. “Our interest is to protect the consumer; we’re trying to prevent the harm from happening in the first place.”

Now OPEI will consider moving forward on a misfueling rule challenge concerning “EPA’s wholly inadequate solution to avoid misfueling, which consists of a small 3-in. by 3-in. gas pump label,” Kiser said. “EPA denied our petition to have an E10 legacy fuel for the marketplace; we remain adamant that an E10 fuel stay in the marketplace for all products not approved for E15 use.”