The boating industry is raising the alarm over President Trump’s pledge to allow higher-level ethanol fuels to be sold year-round, which the industry believes could place millions of consumers on the hook for expensive repairs.
“President Trump’s pledge to allow the year-round sale of E15 will needlessly put consumers in danger,” Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, said in a statement Friday.
Trump told farmers in Iowa on Thursday that the administration is “getting very close” to approving a waiver to allow 15-percent ethanol fuel blends, or E15, to be sold year-round. Currently, the sale of the fuel is restricted during the summer months because of its high volatility. Sales after June 1 require a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The farmers want the waiver approval to increase the market for ethanol, especially as trade tensions with China threaten to block a massive export market for many of their other agricultural products.
But if Trump moves forward with the plan to allow year round sales of E15 fuel blends, the risks will be placed on 142 million American boaters, said Dammrich.
“There’s a reason that previous proposals to expand the sale of E15 have failed — it’s simply bad policy,” he said.
Dammrich’s trade group, representing some of the largest marine engine and boat makers in the world, including Honda and Volvo Penta to name a few, has opposed the introduction of E15 because of its adverse effects to marine engines that are not designed to take the high-octane fuel.
“Sixty-five percent of people assume that any gas sold at retail gas stations is safe for all their products, when in fact federal regulation prohibits E15 use in small engines,” said Dammrich. “These engines — like those in boats, lawn mowers, and motorcycles — suffer immediate damage when fueled with blends exceeding 10 percent ethanol, thus voiding their warranty and saddling consumers with high repair and replacement costs.”
“We need to educate the public about the hazards of misfueling before we even begin thinking about expanding E15 sales,” Dammrich said.
The trade group supports a bill introduced in the House that would require the EPA to revise the labeling requirements for ethanol fuel blends exceeding 10 percent and to implement a consumer education campaign to raise awareness.
The Consumer Protection and Fuel Transparency Act of 2018 was introduced by Reps. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., and Austin Scott, R-Ga.
The ethanol industry denies most of the claims made by the boating group and others about the problems ethanol poses for marine and other small non-road engines.
The ethanol industry has launched its own education campaign to make boaters aware of the differences between fuel blends, and not to use E15 or higher ethanol fuels. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, 10 percent ethanol fuel, or E10, is safe for boat engines.
Before his resignation, former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt approved the commercial sale of an alternative to ethanol called biobutanol, which remains rare but is better suited to marine engines, according to Dammrich’s group. The renewable fuel is very similar to conventional gasoline and poses no problems for marine engines when blended in higher amounts, according to the boat manufacturers. However, it is not being produced in significant quantities yet.
