DES MOINES, Iowa – Attorney General Brenna Bird on Monday sued the Biden Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to fulfill Governor Kim Reynolds’ request to allow the sale of year-round E15 gasoline.
On April 28, 2022, a bipartisan coalition of governors, led by Reynolds, asked the EPA to allow the sale of E15 gasoline through the summer. Despite the Clean Air Act requiring the EPA to comply within 90 days, the EPA has remained silent and refused to act. It has now been over 376 days since the expiration of that 90-day deadline.
“The Biden Administration has dragged its feet long enough,” Bird said. “Hardworking Iowans deserve a cheaper, cleaner option at the gas pump. But despite the Governors’ request, the EPA has refused to allow Iowans to buy the fuel they want. Well, Iowans are done waiting. We’re taking President Biden and the EPA to court to make E15 available year-round.”
Reynolds released a statement in response to the lawsuit.
“The EPA’s ongoing failure to act following our E15 notification more than two years ago is nothing more than a thinly veiled disguise of their disdain towards clean, renewable, American-produced ethanol. The EPA disfavors anything that doesn’t have the word ‘electric’ in its name,” she said. “American energy independence, including Iowa’s renewable energies, should be the goal of any presidential administration – especially when it saves Americans money at the gas tank. I applaud Attorney General Bird for bringing this lawsuit holding the federal government accountable. Enough is enough.”
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers also joined the lawsuit on behalf of the State of Nebraska.
Read the lawsuit below:
07713918962
