OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The Environmental Protection Agency issued an emerging exemption Friday that will allow the sale of E-15 gasoline, also known as unleaded 88, to continue.
The EPA explained in a press release that E-15 cannot be sold at terminals starting May 1 and at retail stations starting June 1 in about two-thirds of the country, including Nebraska and Iowa. The waiver overrides this rule.
The waiver is officially only through May 20, but the agency said in its news release that it “expects to issue new waivers that effectively extend the emergency fuel waiver until extreme and unusual circumstances of fuel supply due to the war in Ukraine are not”. more present”.
E-15 is a cheaper option at the pump. The EPA said in its statement that it is now about 25 cents cheaper than E-10. However, this can fluctuate.
A gas station 3 News Now visited Friday in Omaha sold E-15 for $2.95 and E-10 for $3.05. It was Casey’s at 99th and Q streets.
The cost and the fact that he knows his car catches him is why Justin Noel says he puts it in his car. He says he doesn’t think much of it.
But others are cautious, fearing engine problems, like Gary Hacker and Guillermo Vázquez.
“I still don’t trust it,” said Vazquez, who came to fill his vehicle with E-10. “I don’t even like using ethanol (E-10) … Except that (the premium non-ethanol option) is too expensive.”
Nebraska Corn Board President Jay Reiners rejected that common attitude.
“This is all about the oil industry,” he said.
Reiners, a south-central Nebraska farmer, and other corn growers are celebrating Friday’s announcement.
“Our prices are coming down,” he explained. “So hopefully with more demand for our corn, it’s going to push prices back up because we’re using more of it.”
Any car made in 2001 or later can use E-15, says Reid Wagner, executive director of the Nebraska Ethanol Board.
“We’re sitting in a position where we’re seeing gas prices go up,” Wagner said. “Consumers need this relief.
The EPA said in its statement that the Biden administration is “committed to protecting Americans from fuel supply challenges resulting from the ongoing war in Ukraine by ensuring that consumers have more choices at the pump.”
The EPA also says in its statement that they do not expect any impact on air quality.
Impact on gas prices?
Brian Ortner with AAA Nebraska says it’s too early to tell what the impact on gas prices might be, but he said, “Having options is always a good thing.”
On gas prices in general, he says, “We’re looking better than last year at this time.”
A year ago, gas prices were $0.50 more expensive in Nebraska than they are now, he said.
At the time, crude oil prices were $122 a barrel. Now, it’s $75, he said, even after an OPEC announcement two-and-a-half weeks ago caused prices to jump.
“If the markets continue to stay at this level below $80 a barrel,” he said, “I think our gas price increases will be incremental as we get closer to the summer.”
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