PICKERINGTON, Ohio — More than 25,000 people have joined the American Motorcyclist Association to oppose federal mandates that would result in the spread of higher-ethanol blended fuels and increase the risk of inadvertent misfueling for motorcyclists and others.

To date, the AMA has collected 25,151 signatures on its online petition urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency not to increase the proposed renewable fuel volumes this year and, instead, to adopt lower mandates.

“We plan to include the names and addresses of all the signers with our comments to the EPA opposing the proposed new mandates,” said Wayne Allard, AMA vice president for government relations. “We urge everyone to go online and add their names to the list. Our new goal is 30,000.”

Anyone can sign the AMA petition by visiting the AMA Federal Action Center here: http://bit.ly/1J4jGLG.

The Renewable Fuel Standard proposal announced May 29 by the EPA would increase the risk of inadvertent misfueling for motorcyclists and all-terrain-vehicle owners by forcing the widespread availability of higher-ethanol fuel blends, such as E15.

None of the estimated 22 million motorcycles and ATVs in use in the United States is approved by the EPA to use E15 or higher ethanol blends. Doing so is illegal and may cause engine and fuel system damage and void a manufacturer’s warranty.

The EPA opened a comment period to allow the public to voice its opinion on the proposed rule. The comment deadline is July 27. The AMA plans to submit every name and address with its comments to the EPA on July 26.

The EPA proposed setting the renewable fuel standard for 2014 at the levels that were actually produced and used, which totaled 15.93 billion gallons. But for 2015, the standard rises to 16.3 billion gallons. And for 2016, the total increases again, to 17.4 billion gallons.

The EPA intends to take final action on this latest proposal by Nov. 30, which would return the agency to the program’s statutory timeline for issuing RFS annual rules.