NMMA spearheads anti-ethanol campaign at EPA hearing

NATIONWIDE—Plans to lift a nationwide restriction on summertime sales of 15 percent ethanol (E15) fuels met with some resistance on March 29, when several maritime industry leaders campaigned against the corn-based gasoline during a public field hearing hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Leading the charge was the National Marine Manufacturers Association, or NMMA, but representatives from Mercury Marine, Tiara Yachts, National Marine Lenders Association and Michigan Boating Industries Association were also on hand to testify against year-round sales of E15. The EPA, at the direction of the White House, is currently considering a rulemaking to allow for year-round sales of E15 fuels. Gasoline blends with 15 percent ethanol are off the market between June 1 and Sept. 15, each year.   Marine Industry Opposition NMMA’s senior vice president of government relations and legal affairs, Nicole Vasilaros, called the possibility of year-round sales of E15 fuels as “deeply troubling” and “based on questionable statutory authority.” She added marine engines are not designed to consume E15 fuels and offering the gasoline blend year-round would be harmful to consumers. “Marine engines are designed, calibrated, and certified by EPA to operate on blends of gasoline up to 10 percent ethanol by volume and federally prohibited from operating on E15,”...