WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will require all consumers to buy at least four gallons of gasoline from certain gas pumps after the new E15 ethanol-gasoline blend is introduced into the market.

The agency revealed the mandate to the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in an Aug. 1 letter responding to AMA concerns that consumers could inadvertently put E15 in motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle gas tanks inadvertently when using blender pumps.

"With E15 gasoline, our members who make a concerted effort to fuel their motorcycles or ATVs with E10-or-less gasoline may be unknowingly refueling with residual fuel left in the hose," wrote Wayne Allard, AMA vice president for government relations, to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in a June 20 letter.

Byron Bunker of the EPA National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory responded to the AMA on behalf of Jackson. "EPA requires that retail stations that own or operate blender pumps either dispense E15 from a dedicated hose and nozzle if able or, in the case of E15 and E10 being dispensed from the same hose, require that at least four gallons of fuel be purchased to prevent vehicles and engines with smaller fuel tanks from being exposed to gasoline-ethanol blended fuels containing greater than 10 volume percent ethanol," wrote Bunker.

"Not only do we find it unacceptable for the EPA to mandate that everyone -- including our members -- buy minimum amounts of gas, but the EPA answer simply won€™t work because of the sizes of many motorcycle and ATV gas tanks and the fact that off-highway riders take containers of gas with them on their trips, and most times those containers are much smaller than four gallons," said Allard in a press release.

In June, the agency gave final approval for the sale of E15.