Iowa Farmers Deserve Honesty and Transparency from EPA on the Renewable Fuel Standard

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) released the following statement in regard to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for conventional, advanced and cellulosic biofuels for 2019, and the biodiesel target for 2020 that was announced today:

“As the state that leads the nation in renewable fuels production, Iowa farmers deserve honesty and transparency from the EPA on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The proposed uptick in the amount of renewable fuel that refiners blend into transportation fuel is encouraging, but does not make up for about 1.5 billion gallons lost by Administrator Pruitt’s decision to hand out an unprecedented number of small refinery waivers.”

Background:

The EPA proposed 2019 volume requirements for conventional, advanced and cellulosic biofuels, as well as the 2020 requirement for biomass-based diesel, on June 26, 2018, with the final rule expected in November 2018. The proposal comes the same day that a Reuters article reported, “[EPA] has consistently ignored recommendations from the Department of Energy to reject or limit waivers to oil refiners seeking exemptions from the nation’s biofuels law,” and that “Under EPA chief Scott Pruitt, an appointee of President Donald Trump, the agency has issued more than two dozen such exemptions in recent months.”

The proposed requirements released by the EPA include: