South Dakota\u2019s congressional delegation is hopeful that year-round, nationwide approval of E15 \u2014 a gasoline blend with 15% ethanol \u2014 will clear Congress this year, bolstered by its inclusion in the latest Senate version of the farm bill.<\/p>\n
Ethanol is a fuel additive made primarily from corn, and a lower E10 blend is already available year-round. Supporters of year-round E15 availability say it would strengthen the farm economy and make the country more energy independent. Without a law authorizing year-round E15, summertime sales require a federal <\/p>\n
waiver<\/a><\/p>\n .<\/p>\n Opponents point to <\/p>\n research<\/a><\/p>\n showing emissions from higher blends could worsen summer smog while encouraging the conversion of grasslands for corn farming. Some lawmakers from oil-producing and refining states also oppose the expansion.<\/p>\n The House pulled year-round E15 from its version of the farm bill earlier this year, instead approving it as <\/p>\n separate legislation<\/a><\/p>\n amending the Clean Air Act.<\/p>\n The farm bill is multi-year legislation that determines federal agriculture, food and nutrition policies. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, voted in favor of both bills.<\/p>\n The Senate Agriculture Committee included year-round E15 when it released its version of the farm bill last week ahead of the committee\u2019s hearing this Thursday. The House\u2019s standalone E15 bill awaits a hearing in another Senate committee.<\/p>\n The last farm bill was signed into law in 2018 and has been extended after Congress failed to pass a new version. Johnson spoke to South Dakota Searchlight on Wednesday at the Sioux Empire Fair in Sioux Falls about the legislation\u2019s progress, including the Senate version.<\/p>\n \u201cIn general, I don\u2019t think the House is going to love this version compared to what we passed, but at some point we\u2019ll figure out a way to get to yes, collectively,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe need to. This is really important if we care about American energy dominance, and we just can\u2019t get there without E15.\u201d<\/p>\n Year-round E15 sales have been a longstanding goal of the ethanol industry. Ethanol plants <\/p>\n process more than half<\/a><\/p>\n of South Dakota-grown corn.<\/p>\n Rising gas prices this summer and the ongoing war with Iran have drawn attention to the United States\u2019 continued reliance on liquid fuels in cars and airplanes \u2014 and its entanglement in Middle East oil markets, Johnson said.<\/p>\n \u201cI would rather wake up every morning worried about the price of corn in a South Dakota field than worried about the price of oil in an Iranian oil field,\u201d said Johnson, who will leave Congress in January after his <\/p>\n