WASHINGTON – Following an initial statement of support, National Farmers Union (NFU) today sent a letter to President Donald Trump endorsing the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition recommendation to lower air toxic emissions caused by the use of gasoline aromatics. In accordance with the coalition’s position, the organization suggested that aromatics be replaced with biofuels, which are higher octane, burn more cleanly, and far better in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, and public health.

NFU is a longtime proponent of replacing toxic aromatics with ethanol, filing comments to that effect on several different rulemakings, including the Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule. In a statement, NFU President Roger Johnson emphasized the benefits of doing so and advised the administration to adopt the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition’s recommendations

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“Governors Tim Walz and Kristi Noem, along with the rest of the Governors Biofuels Coalition, are to be commended for raising this important issue with the President. The use of toxic aromatics in gasoline is indefensible. They are a public health risk, degrading air quality by emitting a significant amount of fine particulate matter as well as air toxics like benzene, toluene, and xylene. If that weren’t enough, they are also expensive, carbon intensive, and energy inefficient.

“Fortunately, there’s an easy solution in ethanol. Not only is it substantially cleaner than petroleum-based octane additives, but it is cost effective and readily available as well. We urge this administration to reduce health care costs, ease compliance burdens, and provide lower cost fuel for consumers by making the prudent choice to replace aromatics with ethanol.”