Biofuels Groups Disappointed With EPA Proposal

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a Supplemental Proposal for Renewable Fuels Volumes Tuesday, following up on the administration plan announced October 4. Biofuel groups expressed disappointment in the proposal, which they say is different than what was presented to them.

“If the Oct. 4 announcement from EPA was a big step forward, today’s supplemental proposal is a step backward,” said Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Geoff Cooper. “It falls short of delivering on President Trump’s pledge to restore integrity to the Renewable Fuel Standard and leaves farmers, ethanol producers, and consumers with more questions than answers. It is baffling to us that the proposal sets the three-year average of exempted volume using the very same DOE recommendations that EPA blatantly ignored over and over.”

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) notes that the “supplemental notice contains a never-before-discussed proposal to estimate small refinery exemptions for 2020, with no assurance that the estimate will come close to actual future exemptions. The biodiesel industry does not believe the proposal meets President Donald Trump’s October 4 promise to American farmers and biodiesel producers.”

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings says the details of the plan fail to live up to the hype generated by the announcement. “The White House made it very clear on October 4 that in 2020 there would be at least 15 billion gallons of ethanol blending,” said Jennings. “This proposal and the approach they are taking to account for small refinery exemptions would absolutely NOT ensure that 15 billion gallons of ethanol gets blended in 2020.”