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The California Air Resources Board (CARB) staff have posted the California Multimedia Evaluation of Gasoline Containing up to 15 percent Ethanol (E15) with Staff Written Summary. The Staff Written Summary was prepared by an interagency team of staff from the boards, departments, and offices of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The Multimedia Evaluation process is extensive, takes multiple years, and is designed to ensure that any changes to fuels used in California do not adversely impact public health or the environment and must address impacts to air, water, or soil, that may result from the production, use, or disposal of the subject fuel.
As a result of recent legislative action through AB 30, E15 can immediately be sold in California. AB 30 allows the sale of blends of gasoline containing 10.5% to 15% ethanol by volume until:
- The California Environmental Policy Committee completes its review of the E15 Multimedia Evaluation, and
- CARB either adopts a regulation establishing a specification for E15 or posts an assessment demonstrating that it is not possible to meet the requirements of subdivision(f) of section 43830.8.
The publication of the multimedia evaluation today is an important step in meeting the requirements of AB 30. CARB has posted a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document related to the implementation of Assembly Bill (AB) 30 (Alvarez, Chapter 247, Statutes of 2025) and California’s Reformulated Gasoline Regulations (Title 13, California Code of Regulations, Sections 2250-2273.5).
For more information on the Multimedia Evaluation process and the results of the E15 analysis, see CARB’s Fuels Multimedia Evaluation webpage.
Background
CARB is responsible for adopting and enforcing motor vehicle fuel specifications, standards, and regulations to protect public health and the environment and achieve toxic criteria emissions and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. To this end, CARB may not adopt any regulation that establishes a specification for motor vehicle fuel unless that regulation, and a multimedia evaluation conducted by affected agencies and coordinated by CARB, are reviewed by the California Environmental Policy Council. The purpose of the E15 Multimedia Evaluation (MME) is to evaluate any significant adverse impact on public health or the environment, including air, water, or soil, that may result from the production, use, or disposal of E15. The MME consists of three steps: Tier I provides what is known about a proposed new fuel, identifies key knowledge gaps and defines the scope of the evaluation. Tier II includes the development and review of any experiments and analyses conducted to fill in the knowledge gaps identified during Tier I. Tier III completes the evaluation following the findings and conclusions determined through Tiers I and II.
Contact
If you have questions or comments about the California Multimedia Evaluation of Gasoline Containing up to 15 percent Ethanol (E15) with Staff Written Summary please contact fuels@arb.ca.gov.
Real and Increasing Costs of Climate Change Impacts for Californians
The science behind climate change is irrefutable. With the increasing severity and frequency of drought, wildfire, extreme heat, and other impacts, Californians just have to look out their windows to know that climate change is real and rapidly getting worse. The impacts once thought decades away are happening now. Recent reports detail some of the impacts to the state:
- A 2024 national report ranked California the worst state for natural disasters fueled by a changing climate, with expected annual losses totaling more than $16 billion statewide.
- Home insurance is harder and more expensive to get. Seven of California’s largest property insurers, State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, USAA, Travelers, Nationwide and Chubb recently limited new homeowners policies in the Golden State — raising questions about the stability of the California home insurance market.
- During an 11-year period, exposure to wildfire smoke caused more than 50,000 deaths in California and more than $400 billion in economic impacts.
- During seven extreme heat events over the past decade, California experienced $7.7 billion in losses.
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