Boating Industry Intelligence You Can Profit From
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its rule outlining a gas pump warning label as well as other misfueling controls for gasoline containing up to 15 percent ethanol, more commonly known as E15.
Last October, the agency approved the use of E15 for model year 2007 and newer vehicles as part of its response to a waiver petition filed in the spring of 2009 by pro-ethanol lobby group Growth Energy. In January 2011, E15 was approved for model year 2001-2006 cars and trucks. Completion of this misfueling rule was one requirement that was stipulated in the partial waivers for E15 before the fuel could be sold at retail outlets. Fuel and fuel additive manufacturers now must register E15 with the EPA, which has not been done as of June 28, 2011.
While both partial waivers exclude marine engines and other non-road engines such as snowmobiles, lawn and garden equipment, the National Marine Manufacturers Association said in a statement that it continues to be concerned that the measures outlined in EPA’s misfueling rule do not take significant steps to address anticipated problems with consumer confusion and the risk of misfueling. In addition, NMMA said, the rule does not ensure compatible fuels remain available for the nation’s 13 million registered boat owners or the hundreds of millions of owners of gasoline-powered equipment. These concerns were outlined in NMMA’s full comments to EPA submitted earlier this year.
To read the full comments, go to: National Marine Manufacturers Association Comments
- Can’t get enough boating news? Subscribe to our blog’s RSS feed, follow us on Twitter or look for “Boating Industry” on Facebook and LinkedIn.
- For more of the latest news, click here.