EPA chief says agency can expand ethanol sales without Congress

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler said on Thursday the agency has the authority to allow sales of higher ethanol blends of gasoline year-round without an act of Congress.

President Donald Trump announced last week that he was directing the EPA to lift a summer ban on sales of so-called E15, in a move cheered by the corn lobby but opposed by the oil industry which threatened to sue to block it.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Richard Chang)