Farm and biofuels groups are urging the Environmental Protection Agency to comply with a federal court decision and not reduce proposed 2018 targets for cellulosic and other advanced biofuels in the nation’s fuel supply.
National Corn Growers, National Farmers Union, and the Renewable Fuels Association are urging the EPA to follow the law and a recent court decision, and boost, not reduce, proposed ’18 RFS volumes of cellulosic and other advanced biofuels.
NCGA Executive Vice-President, Jon Doggett
The D.C. Federal Appeals Court earlier ruled for NCGA, RFA, and others and against the Obama EPA in how it used waivers to roll back conventional ethanol volumes in the statute for 2014 through ’16.
Yet the Trump EPA is now proposing a 73-million gallon cut in cellulosic fuel volume and a 40-million-gallon total biofuel reduction next year. RFA wants EPA to finalize in November, higher numbers initially proposed to the White House in May.
NCGA’s Doggett and others hope refinery outages from Hurricane Harvey in Texas will help sway the EPA
Leading Doggett to conclude
The EPA has granted partial waivers to use higher blends of ethanol during the summer driving season, but biofuels and farm groups want a more permanent approach to meeting fuel shortfalls in the wake of Harvey and other storms.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.