“Was EPA aware of ongoing (Coordinating Research Council) testing on engine durability, fuel pumps and other engine components? Why not wait until that test was complete before making a decision? Because in the aftermath it looks like the decision was, at best, premature. The CRC data shows millions of approved vehicles are in danger of engine damage.”

Let’s take on the faulty claims in McCarthy’s written responses in turn:

EPA or the Energy Department was “expressly denied” a role in CRC’s E15 testing program: False

• EPA, DOE and the U.S. national laboratories were key players before and during CRC’s E15 research, with more than 10 different staff members from these entities participating in more than eight meetings between 2008 and 2010. These meetings concerned potential gaps in CRC’s research, its test plans and procedures. The government representatives provided valuable input and had ample opportunity to offer criticism as well.
• Staff members from DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) actively participated in CRC groups doing mid-level ethanol blends research and helped write final reports. NREL even hosted one of the meetings.

CRC’s testing had scientific shortcomings: False

• Although McCarthy’s response hit CRC for not testing components or vehicles on E0 and E10 fuels, CRC’s baseline testing is, in fact, consistent with EPA’s. Note: The agency granted its second waiver on E15 with no E10 testing, and in its first E15 waiver decision it said that E0 was the reference fuel.
• For 70 years CRC has represented the gold standard for research on fuels, engines and vehicles. CRC tests are developed and managed by the same company automotive engineers who design and build cars. 

Complete information on CRC’s testing program was not made available to government: False

• Again, staff from EPA, DOE and the U.S. national laboratories were involved before and during CRC’s E15 research (see above) – underscored by the fact DOE reviewed and made comments on CRC’s program.
• See emails from CRC to DOE and EPA staff, informing them of the availability of CRC research reports as they became available, by clicking here (attachments).

Our industry has great confidence in the ability of the automotive and fuels experts who sit on CRC research and testing committees. They conduct well-conceived and thorough technical investigations of consumer acceptance and vehicle safety-related issues associated with the use of mid-level ethanol blends in vehicles operated by our mutual customers. In fact, both DOE and EPA have funded research through CRC in the past (see Page 1).

Bottom line: EPA approved E15 for the marketplace knowing full well that automotive and fuels experts were still studying its impacts. Rather than acknowledge that approval of E15 for use in 2001 and newer vehicles was premature, before all necessary research was done, both EPA and DOE instead attack the research and the researchers.

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Think about it:  From the gasoline in our cars and trucks to the asphalt in our roads, from bicycle helmets to medical equipment, 60 percent of energy used daily by Americans is delivered by tanker.

The men and women of the maritime industry and the vessels they operate – around the clock and across the world – safely deliver the energy we need. Smaller tankers transport gasoline and other specialized petroleum products throughout the United States, while tankers  as long as the Empire State Building is tall transport crude around the globe.

Over the past decade, more than 99.9997 percent of oil delivered by tankers to the U.S. reached its destination without incident. Today's cutting-edge tankers are the product of a commitment to safety, combined with the power of computer-assisted design. As a result, the new ships traveling the seas are stronger, more maneuverable and more durable than their predecessors. 

We met one member of our merchant marines, Janet DeCastro of Polar Tankers, last year. She represents an important group of people playing a vital role in the  safe delivery of oil and protection of the environment: 

Tankers and the people who run them work hard to provide the energy resources that power American industries and fuel our domestic economy every day. 

Note: Since the filming of this video, Janet DeCastro is now a Master with polar Tankers.

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