EPA’s Expected Impact of the EPA Rule on E15 Use

EPA does not believe that providing E15 with the 1-psi waiver will substantially change the current trend in its use. Currently retailers offer E15 at roughly just 1% of all retail stations in the U.S., and EPA is of the opinion that the waiver may not result in significant expansion of E15 offered at retail stations because of numerous hurdles related to its distribution.

The most important hurdle is the requirement imposed on retailers to demonstrate that underground storage tank (UST) systems are compatible with fuels stored at retail stations (i.e. infrastructure compatibility).

Furthermore, EPA does not believe that all retail stations turning over their UST systems will offer E15. Some of them will upgrade their UST systems because they