Mike Naig and Tim Gannon. (file photo)
A senior administration official says President Trump will hold an event at the White House today to announce he’s paving the way to allow summertime sales of gasoline with a higher percentage of ethanol.
Republican Congressman David Young will be at that event in D.C., then fly with the president on Air Force One to attend Trump’s rally in Council Bluffs this evening. Senator Joni Ernst and Governor Kim Reynolds will also attend.
Only flexible fuel vehicles designed to burn fuel with up to 85 percent ethanol have been allowed to run on E15 in the summer. Republican Mike Naig, Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture, says letting all vehicles run on E15 at any time of the year is great news for farmers.
“Many of us have been working very hard to advocate for and to urge the administration to finally take action on year-round E15, in particular,” Naig says, “but to overall provide strength and stability for our Renewable Fuels strategy in this country.”
Tim Gannon, the Democrat running against Naig, says farmers need an assurance the EPA won’t slow-walk the rules.
“We don’t know at this point in time if they’re going to get all the rule-making done in a timely enough manner that come June 1, 2019 gas stations and conveninence stores are going to have had enough time to make the investments to allow for sales (of E15) in an expanded number of places,” Gannon says.
According to state officials, there are 217 fueling stations in Iowa that offer E15. It’s generally priced about 10-cents-per-gallon cheaper than E10.
(Additional reporting by Dennis Morrice, KLEM, Le Mars)