Posted April 17, 2014
Petroleum groups are concerned that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will change its proposed renewable fuel standard released late last year for the amount of ethanol and other biofuels refiners must blend into the nation’s fuel supply, according to an article by The Hill available here.
In November of last year, the EPA released its proposed 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), reducing the proposed volume to 15.21 billion gallons. In 2013, the RFS was set at 16.55 billion gallons.
President of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), Charles Drevna, said that the agency could flip on the proposal. “Recently Gina McCarthy has been remarking that the volumetric requirements for the finalized [Renewable Fuel Standard] may be different than the proposed rule,” said Drevna.
Drevna said the EPA is thinking about increasing the volumes because the Energy Department estimates there will be an increase in gasoline demand in the next year.
The AFPM, and the oil industry want the proposal to stay as written, but opponents want “to see the renewable fuel mandate repealed all together.”
Iowa Governor, Terry Branstad, is optimistic that the EPA will change the proposed RFS, according to an article by the Waterloo Courier available here.
Gov. Branstad met with McCarthy and testified at a hearing on the recommended changes, saying that the proposed RFS would be detrimental to the ethanol industry in Iowa and across the Midwest.
Based on meetings and feedback from others, he believes the EPA “realizes they were basing their recommendation on outdated and inaccurate information.”
For more information on a recent case involving the RFS, a recent post from this blog is available here. For more information on renewable energy, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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