WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is proposing to allow year-round sales of gasoline mixed with 15 percent ethanol, seeking to calm a dispute that has riled two politically important blocs — the oil industry and corn farmers.

Tuesday’s proposed rule change by the Environmental Protection Agency would fulfill a pledge that President Donald Trump made to U.S. corn farmers, for whom ethanol is an important driver of demand for their crops. Many environmentalists oppose any expansion of the ethanol industry, saying the increase in corn production has polluted waterways and destroyed habitat.

Federal law for more than a decade has mandated that oil refineries mix ethanol into their fuel. The Trump administration’s former EPA chief, Scott Pruitt, had angered lawmakers, growers and ethanol processors in Iowa and other key election states by granting a spate of exemptions sparing refineries from that mandate.

The dispute sparked a billboard campaign and at least one tractor rally by angry farmers in the Midwest last year, threatening to erode what has been a base of support for Trump.

Tuesday’s proposal would allow sale of fuel mixed with a higher blend of ethanol year-round, ending a summertime ban imposed out of concerns for increased smog from the higher ethanol blend.

The proposal “absolutely is moving in the right direction,” said Geoff Cooper, head of the ethanol industry’s Renewable Fuels Association. Ethanol supporters would “keep a watchful eye” on the EPA’s current administrator, Andrew Wheeler, as Wheeler weighs whether to grant future exemption requests from refineries, he said.

Beyond increasing the amount of ethanol allowed in vehicle fuel, the EPA is proposing regulatory changes in the ethanol program.

A group representing oil refiners and other oil industry partners, the Fueling American Jobs Coalition, spoke positively of the EPA proposal.

The Trump administration was striking “a careful balance between the need to maintain jobs and investment in the vital refining sector and the desire of some in the biofuels sector to expand the use of higher blends of ethanol,” the oil industry group said in a statement.

Only a small fraction of U.S. gas stations currently sell the higher-ethanol blend, called E15. The rule, if the administration puts it into effect, isn’t expected to have any big immediate effect on ethanol sales, but would signal the marketplace to take another look at the fuel blend in the longer term, Cooper said.

Environmental groups contend the U.S. Clean Air Act prohibits year-round sales of E15, and court challenges are expected.

Conservation advocates and some researchers say the ethanol mandate has been unexpectedly devastating for the environment. The increased demand for corn led farmers to plow millions of additional acres of land —depriving monarch butterflies and countless other species of habitat. Farmers also upped their use of nitrate-containing fertilizers, which pollute waterways.

Any future expansion of ethanol use “would expand corn production, resulting in more nitrogen fertilizer use, more pollution of waterways, and more losses in habitat,” said Aaron Smith, a professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University of California, Davis.

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — A Fremont man has claimed his $1 million Powerball prize from the Nebraska Lottery.

Zach Norenberg’s winning ticket had five of the winning numbers but didn’t match the Powerball number in the March 6 drawing. He bought the ticket at a Hy-Vee gas station in Fremont. Another $1 million ticket was sold in Texas.

Norenberg told lottery officials that he bought some tickets on a whim while dropping off his daughter before he went to work. He says he picked numbers based on the birthdays of family members.

He and his wife plan to use some of the money to pay off their student loans and their mortgage.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Gov. Pete Ricketts has issued an emergency declaration in preparation for an impending winter storm in western Nebraska and anticipated flooding in other parts of the state.

The declaration on Tuesday allows the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency to coordinate response and recovery activities with local governments and other state agencies and groups. It also allows local governments to request assistance from the state if they need it.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for the Nebraska Panhandle with forecasts of 18 to 24 inches of snow possible and 50-60 mph winds.

The governor’s office says travel is not recommended during the storm, and motorists should exercise care.

Significant flooding is also possible along the Loup, Platte, Elkhorn and Missouri rivers.

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – A May 6 sentencing has been scheduled for a woman who’s been accused of stealing more than $30,000 from a North Platte daycare.

Lincoln County District Court records say 44-year-old Michelle Seidler pleaded no contest Monday to a felony theft charge. Prosecutors dropped another theft count and a charge of criminal impersonation in return for Seidler’s plea.

Police say she was named the director of Kids Academy in August 2016. Police received reports of theft in April last year. An affidavit in support of her arrest says she overbilled the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services more than $10,000 for daycare fees and diverted more than $30,000 from Kids Academy for her personal use.

CHAPPELL, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a western Nebraska man died at a hospital after his vehicle crashed.

The Deuel County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook posting Saturday that Larry Dickenson was injured March 2 when his vehicle went out of control and it struck a light pole along U.S. Highway 30 near Chappell. He was taken by ambulance to Sedgwick County Memorial Hospital in neighboring Colorado.

The sheriff’s office says Dickenson lived in Chappell.