WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works held a legislative hearing on the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act (S. 517). S. 517, sponsored by Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), would allow E15 to be sold year-round by providing a one pound Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver for E15.

Witnesses included:

• R. Brooke Coleman – Executive Director, Advanced Biofuels Business Council, Boston, MA
• Jonathan Lewis – Senior Counsel, Clean Air Task Force, Boston, MA
• Mike Lorenz – Executive Vice President, Sheetz Inc., Claysburg, PA
• Todd Teske – Chairman, President & CEO, Briggs & Stratton Corp., Milwaukee, WI
• Janet Yanowitz, P.E., Ph.D. – Principal Engineer, Ecoengineering Inc., Boulder, CO

In his testimony, Mike Lorenz of Sheetz, testified in support of S. 517. He shared with the committee that the bill allows consumers to make their own choices and provides relief for retailers who must spend millions of dollars to re-label every summer in order to sell E15. He also argued that re-labeling itself is confusing and could contribute to misfueling, though he noted that in two years of selling E15, his company had never heard of a misfueling case.

NACS supports the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act and sent a letter to the committee outlining that. NACS also shared concerns about misfueling and providing retailers with liability relief. For more information, please contact Paige Anderson at panderson@convenience.org.