EPA Rushed Ethanol Plan Sought by Farmers After Trump Pledge
- Agency skirted requests for more analysis to get proposal out
- Trump touted rule to unleash E15 gasoline as boost for farmers
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After President Donald Trump promised Iowa voters he would unleash high-ethanol gasoline, his administration fast-tracked a plan to lift summertime restrictions on the fuel, forgoing studies of its potential price tag and hastily ending a review of the measure.
At one point, the EPA even justified not conducting a deep environmental analysis of its proposal by arguing that allowing year-round sales of so-called E15 gasoline wouldn’t actually give a big market boost to ethanol, undermining a key political promise driving the initiative.