OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergent waiver Friday that will allow for the sale of E-15 gasoline, also known as Unleaded 88, to continue.
The EPA explained in a press release that E-15 cannot be sold at terminals beginning May 1 and at retail stations beginning June 1 in roughly two-thirds of the country, including Nebraska and Iowa. The waiver bypasses that regulation.
The waiver is officially only until May 20, but the agency said in its press release that it "expects to issue new waivers effectively extending the emergency fuel waiver until such time as the extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances due to the war in Ukraine are no longer present."
E-15 is a cheaper option at the pump. The EPA said in its release that it's on average about 25 cents cheaper than E-10 now. However, that can fluctuate.
A gas station that 3 News Now visited in Omaha on Friday sold E-15 for $2.95 and E-10 for $3.05. It was the Casey's at 99th and Q Streets.
The cost and the fact that he knows his car takes it is why Justin Noel says he puts it in his car. He says he doesn't think much about it.
But others are wary, fearing engine problems, including Gary Hacker and Guillermo Vazquez.
"I don't trust it yet," said Vazquez, who came to fill his vehicle with E-10. "I don't even like using ethanol (E-10) ... Except this (the no-ethanol premium option) is too expensive."
Nebraska Corn Board Chair Jay Reiners pushed back on that common attitude.
"That's just all from the oil industry," he said.
Reiners, a south-central Nebraska farmer, and other corn growers are celebrating Friday's announcement.
"Our prices are going down," he explained. "So hopefully with increased demand for our corn, it will drive prices back up again because we're using more of it."
Any car made in 2001 or later can use E-15, says Reid Wagner, executive director of the Nebraska Ethanol Board.
"We're sitting in a position where we're seeing gas prices rise," Wagner said. "Consumers need this relief.
The EPA said in its release said the Biden administration is "committed to protecting Americans from fuel supply challenges resulting from the ongoing war in Ukraine by ensuring consumers have more choices at the pump."
The EPA also says in its release they don't expect any impact on air quality.
Impact on gas prices?
Brian Ortner with AAA Nebraska says it's too early to say what the impact on gas prices might be, but he said: "Having options is always a good thing."
On gas prices overall, he says "We're looking better than we did last year at this time."
A year ago, gas prices were $0.50 more expensive in Nebraska than they are now, he said.
Then, prices of crude oil were $122 per barrel. Now, it's $75, he said, even after an announcement from OPEC two and a half weeks ago that caused prices to jump.
"If the markets continue to stay at this level of that below $80 a barrel," he said, "I think our gas price increases will be incremental as we move into the summer."
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