As we’ve been covering for you in the past, the Environmental Protection Agency has been considering a request from various agro-business entities for a waiver which would allow the expansion of bio-fuel additives to gasoline from the current 10% limit to 15%. The automotive industry has largely called for slowing down this process until adequate testing can be performed to ensure that the increased levels will not cause long term damage to current model cars.

This week, the EPA announced that they will not rule on the waiver request until some time next year, after thorough testing has been conducted. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers was quick to praise this decision and participate in further testing.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers today praised the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) postponement of a decision on an ethanol producer waiver application seeking to increase the amount of ethanol permitted to be blended in gasoline from 10 to 15 percent. Automakers want government testing to prove that increasing the allowable ethanol blend limit will not harm vehicle emissions, performance, and durability.

Alliance President and CEO Dave McCurdy stated, “We are pleased that EPA recognizes the importance of making decisions based on sound science. Any decisions on blends higher than E-10 for the existing fleet should be postponed until adequate testing results are available.”

There is little question that we need to be exploring every possible avenue of improving the efficiency and environmentally friendly nature of our automobiles and we absolutely have to reduce our dependency on foreign oil suppliers. But rushing into this without considering the long term impact on the current fleet of cars may well cause more problems than it solves. It’s good to see the EPA taking their time and digging into the hard science on this one, rather than simply diving into a politically correct, populist decision which could hurt more than it helps. Three cheers for science!