(AP)- Federal agriculture officials are awarding $22 million in grants to gas stations, convenience stores, and fuel distribution sites in 14 states to upgrade pumps, fuel lines, and storage tanks as part of a program designed to increase the use of higher blends of ethanol fuel and biodiesel. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the grants in several stops on Thursday including two locations in Iowa. In May the government announced it would allocate $100 million for a program to help businesses upgrade gas pumps, fuel lines, and storage tanks to sell gas and diesel fuels with higher ethanol content such as E15. Critics called the announcement a Donald Trump administration election-year stunt.
