California Consumers and Iowa Farmers Paying the Price for Unnecessary E15 Red Tape

Contact: Monte Shaw
515-252-6249

WEST DES MOINES, IA – Nine months ago today, October 2, 2025, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill authorizing the sale of E15 in the state. California was the last state to remove state-level restrictions on E15 sales. The bill, AB30, passed the state’s legislature unanimously, which is almost unheard of.

“Nine months ago, California enacted a law to authorize E15 sales, but we’re still waiting,” stated Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw. “The painful irony is that the bill was necessary because the state’s bureaucracy was years behind in approving E15 through their complex regulatory system. When signing the bill, Gov. Newsom touted: ‘we’re cutting red tape to provide consumers with more options.’ Yet not a drop of E15 has been sold to help ease California’s notoriously high fuel prices, nor boost demand for Iowa farmers.”

E15 would add much needed supply to the constrained California fuel market. Combined with the low cost of ethanol, E15 is predicted to provide a 20-cent-per-gallon savings at the pump, or $2.7 billion per year. California E15 also represents a major new market for ethanol use, which in turn boosts corn prices for struggling Midwest farmers. If fully adopted in California, E15 would represent a market for an additional 250 million bushels of corn.

While many California agencies moved quickly to implement AB30, there remains one roadblock: the California Fire Marshal. The Fire Marshal is insisting that E15 cannot be sold until the secondary vapor recovery systems required on California fuel pumps are officially certified for use with E15, a lengthy regulatory process that could take two years. This insistence comes even in the face of manufacturer statements that the systems are compatible with E15 and the fact that all the systems were actually tested on E15 when certified for E10.

“E15 in California should be a win-win, providing Californians with relief at the fuel pump and Iowa farmers a much needed market opportunity,” added Shaw. “We expected E15 sales in California to begin by the end of 2025. Retailers are eager to supply E15 as an affordable option to their customers. Yet we have one bureaucrat standing in the way of California’s governor and entire legislature. IRFA hopes to see emergency action to remove this last, unjustifiable barrier to E15 in California. It’s time for common sense.”

California is the only state still requiring secondary vapor recovery systems. Other states have long abandoned the requirement because modern vehicles include onboard systems to reduce evaporative emissions during fueling. In fact, some research indicates that having a system in the car and on the pump leads to higher emissions as they pull in opposite directions.

###

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association represents the state’s liquid renewable fuels industry and works to foster its growth. Iowa is the nation’s leader in renewable fuels production with 42 ethanol refineries capable of producing over 5 billion gallons annually – including 34 million gallons of annual cellulosic ethanol production capacity – and 8 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce 408 million gallons annually. For more information, visit the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association website at: www.IowaRFA.org.