Adding Fuel to the Fire

In the war over E15 that has raged for more than a decade across the United States, the current battle is the widest ranging yet—set off by a promise that President Trump made to Midwest farmers, and leaving just about every owner of a towable boat caught in the crosshairs as prime cruising season gets underway.

At stake is the potential for boaters to wreck their marine engines by accident, simply by pumping the wrong type of fuel into them at gas stations all across America starting June 1.

The “wrong fuel” in question is E15, made from a blend of 85 percent gasoline and 15 percent ethanol, a renewable fuel that