EPA Guidance to Help Determine Compatibility Of UST System Components With E15

摘要

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) is expected to release guidance in May for determining the compatibility of UST system components with fuels containing more than 10 percent ethanol or certain volumes of biodiesel. The guidance document should have particular application to a situation that many observers believe will be quite common when El 5 reaches the marketplace. Certain retailers may be interested in selling the new higher blend fuel, but unwilling or unable to purchase all-new equipment listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for use with the new fuel. The EPA guidance provides an avenue by which retailers can demonstrate that existing components in their UST systems that are not UL-listed for E15 are safe to accommodate the higher blend. Such a determination may help the retailers safely market the new fuel without incurring steep replacement costs.