By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. governors sent a letter to the Biden administration on Thursday to ask for guidance on an action that could expand sales of a fuel with a higher ethanol blend.
The letter sent to the Environmental Protection Agency comes after an appeals court in July struck down a U.S. action from 2019 that had allowed year-round sales of the blend, known as E15. The court ruling drew anger from farm and biofuel groups that had advocated for year-round sales as it boosts demand for their products.
In the letter, the group of seven governors pointed to a section of the U.S. Clean Air Act that allows governors to effectively request from EPA that E15 be sold in their state all year.
"In the wake of the court decision, we are exploring all of our options to ensure retailers are able to sell E15 to consumers all year long without interruption," said the group, which includes Republican Governor Kim Reynolds from Iowa and Democratic Governor Tim Walz from Minnesota.
The governors in the letter requested guidance from EPA as to what supporting documentation they need to submit a request.
Groups including the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association and the Renewable Fuels Association cheered the letter.
"We all hope either Congress or EPA will take action to preserve nationwide access to E15 on a year-round basis," said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw. "But if no timely national solution is found, governors have the authority to implement a state-by-state solution."