From the EPA website: (I do not see anything that says it is becoming mandatory)
https://www3.epa.gov/otaq/regs/fuels/additive/e15/
E15 (a blend of gasoline and ethanol)
In response to a request by Growth Energy and 54 ethanol manufacturers under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted
two partial waivers that taken together allow but do not require the introduction into commerce of gasoline that contains greater than 10 volume percent (vol%) ethanol and up to 15 vol% ethanol (E15) for use in model year (MY) 2001 and newer light-duty motor vehicles, subject to certain conditions. On October 13, 2010, EPA granted the
first partial waiver (PDF) (58 pp; 4.6M; published November 4, 2010) for E15 for use in MY2007 and newer light-duty motor vehicles (i.e., cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty passenger vehicles). On January 21, 2011, EPA granted the
second partial waiver for E15 for use in MY2001-2006 light-duty motor vehicles. These decisions were based on test results provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other test data and information regarding the potential effect of E15 on vehicle emissions.
E15 may be lawfully sold by a fuel or fuel additive manufacturer only after the manufacturer has registered E15 and met the conditions of the partial waivers, which include a misfueling mitigation plan for minimizing the potential for E15 to be used in vehicles and engines not covered by the partial waivers. For more information on fuel registration, visit the
Registration and Health Effects Testing page. For more information on specific waiver conditions, visit the
Misfueling Mitigation Plans page and the
Survey Plan page. There are a number of additional factors, including requirements under other federal, state, and local laws, that may also affect the distribution of E15.
With EPA’s June 15, 2012 approval of a number of companies’ misfueling mitigation plans, EPA has acted on each of the Clean Air Act steps required to bring E15 to market. Some companies have now met all of the Clean Air Act requirements related to E15 and may lawfully introduce E15 into the marketplace.
Learn more about EPA actions related to E15 by using the following links to
Frequently Asked Questions,
Notices & Regulations,
Petition for New Rulemaking,
E15 Registration and
Misfueling Mitigation Plans.
Recent Activities
- On February 7, 2013, EPA approved a new blender pump configuration, submitted by the Renewable Fuels Association, for general use by retail stations that wish to dispense E15 and E10 from a common hose and nozzle. For more information, please see the Misfueling Mitigation Plans page.
- On June 15, 2012, EPA approved the first plans for satisfying the misfueling mitigation conditions of the E15 partial waivers. For more information, please see the Misfueling Mitigation Plans page.
- On May 24, 2012, EPA approved the RFG Survey Association’s E15 Survey Compliance Plan for the remainder of 2012. For more information, please see the E15 Survey Plan page.
- On April 2, 2012, EPA approved the first applications for registering ethanol for use in making E15. For more information, please see the E15 Registration page and the Registration and Health Effects Testing page.
- On March 15, 2012, EPA informed the Renewable Fuels Association by letter that its Model E15 Misfueling Mitigation Plan would generally be sufficient to satisfy the partial waivers’ requirement for a misfueling mitigation plan. For more information, please see the Misfueling Mitigation Plans page.
- On February 17, 2012, EPA released an evaluation of information submitted by the Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy for satisfying the emissions and health effects data requirements for registration of E15. The Evaluation Document concludes that the submission would be sufficient to satisfy those requirements. Fuel and fuel additive manufacturers who wish to register E15 may choose to rely on the submission for completing their applications.
