Groups rally support for anti-ethanol amendment

Sullivan’s amendment would block EPA from using funding this fiscal year to implement its so-called E15 waiver, which allows ethanol levels in gasoline of up to 15 percent in cars from model year 2001 onward.

While the copy of the letter obtained by E2 does not say which specific groups are supporting it, a wide spectrum ranging from livestock and food-industry trade groups to environmentalists have weighed in against higher ethanol blends in the past.

“Our organizations rarely agree on any public policy issue, but we are united in opposing the premature introduction of E15. Protection of the environment and the nation’s motorists must take precedence over the politics of biofuels. Simply stated, this amendment will call a halt to EPA’s headlong rush to introduce E15 at least until unbiased and independent testing on the impact of E15 on vehicle and off-road engines and the environment can be completed,” the letter states.

Backers of the Sullivan amendment are likely to include automakers. An official with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said the group is likely to support Sullivan’s amendment alongside a “broad coalition” of engine manufacturers, fuel producers and environmental groups.