Biden waiving ethanol rule in bid to lower gasoline prices

Biden waiving ethanol rule in bid to lower gasoline prices

FILE - In this July 20, 2013, file photo, an ethanol plant stands next to a cornfield near Nevada, Iowa. The president and auto industry maintain the nation is on the cusp of a gigantic shift to electric vehicles and away from liquid-fueled cars, but biofuels producers and some of their supporters in Congress aren't buying it. They argue that now is the time to increase sales of ethanol and biodiesel, not abandon them. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is visiting corn-rich Iowa to announce he’ll suspend a federal rule preventing the sale of higher ethanol blend gasoline in the summer. Biden’s administration is intensifying its efforts to tamp down prices at the pump that have spiked during Russia’s war with Ukraine. Most gasoline sold in the U.S. is blended with 10% ethanol. The Environmental Protection Agency will issue an emergency waiver to allow widespread sale of 15% ethanol blend that’s usually prohibited between June 1 and Sept. 15 because of concerns it adds to smog in high temperatures. The Biden administration says the move will save drivers an average of 10 cents per gallon at 2,300 gas stations.

Photo: FILE – In this July 20, 2013, file photo, an ethanol plant stands next to a cornfield near Nevada, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)