Waiting for E15

Waiting for E15. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. E15. It's not some magic number but it would be a big boost to those wanting to become less dependent on foreign oil. And while most cars on the road today are currently running on a 10% blend of ethanol to gasoline ramping up that number has been a long time coming. Ethanol blend testing is conducted by the Energy Department and should be done within a month or two, then it will head to the EPA for a final decision. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson confirmed higher blends of ethanol won't be ready to sell to consumers - even if approved this fall - until early next year. Even then the approval of higher ethanol blends is only being considered for vehicles from 2001 and up. Iowa GOP Senator Chuck Grassley calls that disappointing too - mentioning he owned a 1964 Oldsmobile in which he used ethanol for most of the 20 years he owned the vehicle. GRASSLEY: Several of us asked questions about what's magic about 2001? What about 1998, 99, 2000? We really didn't get answers to those questions. But the Senators meeting with Administrator Jackson did get an answer as to why the testing is taking so long. GRASSLEY: They know they're going to be sued by oil, by small engine companies, by environmentalists, by an odd coalition even beyond the three aspects of it I named and she needs plenty of evidence so they aren't successfully sued and overruled by the courts, and that's what she's trying to do. Grassley says Jackson told Senators a lawsuit is inevitable - and the best evidence and science the EPA can have - and information on what E-15 might do to engines - is the best way of getting it done. GRASSLEY: I sense that they just want to be certain when they make a rule that the courts don't overrule it and that they're just going to be very, very cautious in that approach and that they're nearing a point where they're going to be making positive announcements for ethanol but also being sued. Grassley says testing for 20-percent blends is happening too - and the Energy Department has indicated those tests could be done around the same time as the testing on 15-percent blends. Knowing that - Grassley suggests it might be time for the ethanol industry to get out a petition for 20-percent blends. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.