Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on March 30 sent a letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Regan requesting the agency issue an emergency waiver allowing the sale of E15 products to continue through the summer 2023 driving season.

The EPA issued such a waiver in April 2022 allowing for sales of E15 to continue through the summer 2022 driving season. In her letter, Kelly said that the 2022 emergency waiver “extended fuel supplies, heled avert potential shortages, and saved Americans at least $57 million in fuel costs.”

“The market conditions that justified emergency action last summer still exist today; indeed, fuel suppliers are even tighter than they were a year ago, and there is a greater risk of disruption heading into summer,” she wrote. “U.S. inventories of crude oil and petroleum products recently hit a 19-year low, and nationwide gasoline stocks are 3 percent lower than a year ago. Gasoline futures prices are up roughly 15 percent in just the last two weeks; and with a larger-than-usual amount of refining capacity offline for maintenance, supplies and prices could experience greater pressure as summer approaches. These are the same circumstances that led the EPA to issue emergency waivers last year.”

Growth Energy has spoken out in support of Kelly’s letter. “Momentum for the emergency waiver continues to build, and we hope EPA does what it must to allow E15 to be sold this coming summer,” said Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy. “With this letter, Gov. Kelly joins the esteemed company of other midwestern leaders who have taken action on behalf of their constituents to ensure that they have continued access to E15—a fuel option that’s less expensive, better for the environment, better for American energy security, and approved for use in 96 percent of cars on the road today. We welcome Gov. Kelly’s support and hope EPA acts quickly to ensure that this lower-carbon fuel doesn’t disappear from retail stations on June 1.”

A full copy of Kelly’s letter is available on her website.