WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- A trade group supporting renewable fuels said it welcomed a U.S. Supreme Court decision to decline to hear a case against ethanol fuel blends.
The Supreme Court declined to review a case filed by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the American Fuel and Petrochemicals Manufacturers and the Grocery Manufacturers Association challenging a decision on ethanol fuel blends. They said the Environmental Protection Agency did not conduct enough testing on E15, gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol, before allowing it on the market.
A lower court in August said the trade groups did not have the standing to challenge the federal decision on E15. The EPA said E15 is permissible for cars newer than the 2001 model year.
Bob Dineen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, said the Supreme Court decision Monday ends an effort by the petroleum industry to thwart E15 consumption.
"With this decision, E15 can finally become a meaningful option for more Americans," he said in a statement issued after the Monday ruling.
AAM said it was calling on consumers to check their owner's manuals before using E15 at the pump. AAM says E15 can lead to engine trouble.
"Renewable fuels are an important part of our energy security, but it is not in the long term interest of the government, automakers, fuel providers or the ethanol industry itself to find out down the road that vehicle problems are occurring from rushing E15 into the national marketplace," the association said.
