FIGHT FOR A BETTER ALTERNATIVE TO E15

Dear Sir or Madam: 

The recreational boating industry supports the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Proposed Fuel Streamlining Rule. However, we request modifications to the rule that will level the playing field and allow biobutanol to fairly compete with the ethanol industry. Without administrative modifications, ethanol will continue to have an undue advantage over next generation, superior biofuels. 

Biobutanol is a very important biofuel for the recreational boating industry. We have submitted hundreds of pages of peer-reviewed technical papers on the benefits of biobutanol, which were conducted in coordination with the Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, U.S. Coast Guard, and an industry driven research program. The results of this program supported the industry-wide approval of biobutanol fuel blends and, subsequently, will help lead to the commercialization of this environmentally beneficial next generation biofuel. 

As such, we support EPA’s streamlining rule with the following adjustments: 

• In order to level the playing field between ethanol and biobutanol, we propose allowing biobutanol blenders to add additional butane without registering as a refiner; and 
• Provide more relief from conducting an attest engagement by raising the 200,000-gallon limit to two million gallons – which would be a more appropriate exemption, particularly as sales of marine gasoline in the U.S. account for approximately 1.5 billion gallons annually. 

These commonsense and environmentally beneficial modifications to the EPA fuel standards will not only benefit small refiners, but also small business that are working hard to introduce biobutanol to the market. 

Thank you for your consideration.