Photo via Wikimedia.

Photo via Wikimedia.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to reduce the amount of ethanol that's blended into the nation's gasoline by at least 15% when it finalizes its proposal by Nov. 30, reports Bloomberg Business.

A new EPA proposal would lower the amount or ethanol added to the fuel blend to between 15 and 15.52 billion gallons from the initial requirement that 18.15 billion gallons of ethanol be blended with gasoline in 2014, reports Green Car Reports.

Representatives of the oil industry such as the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers argue that ethanol quotas should be kept below the current 10% threshold for use in cars and trucks.

Ethanol boosters including the Fuels America coalition of biofuel boosters and producers that includes DuPont Co., Royal DSM NV and Poet LLC created an ad campaign to try and get the administration to increase the proposed quotas in line with higher statutory targets.

Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act back in 2007, and included a Renewable Fuel Standard requiring certain amounts of ethanol to be blended into the national fuel supply. This standard was added to try and reduce dependence on foreign oil and cut carbon emissions by supporting use of a fuel that could be produced in the U.S. from renewable sources such as corn, wheat, or potatoes.

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