WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President Chet Thompson announces the association's decision to intervene in the lawsuit brought by the ethanol industry against the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) use of its general waiver authority to lower renewable fuel volumes under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007:
"AFPM filed a motion to intervene to support EPA's interpretation and use of its legal waiver authority to reduce the mandated amounts of renewable fuels to be blended into the nation's fuel supply. EPA's decision to lower volume requirements was the only justifiable option given market realities and the failure to do so would have been arbitrary and capricious.
"This lawsuit is another effort by the ethanol industry to force increased amounts of ethanol produced by the petitioners' members on consumers through an unpopular government mandate, and ignores not only the E10 blend wall but also strong consumer rejection of higher-ethanol fuels."