The Trump administration announced on Oct. 4 that it will take steps to increase the amount of ethanol required in 2020 to meet quotas under the 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The presidents of the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers strongly criticized the action.
US Agriculture Sec. Sonny Perdue and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew R. Wheeler each gave credit to US President Donald Trump for facilitating an agreement that Wheeler said “continues to promote domestic ethanol and biodiesel production, supporting our nation’s farmers and providing greater energy security.”
Specifically, he said that EPA will issue a supplemental notice building off recently proposed 2020 Renewable Volume Standards and the Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2021.
The agency will propose and request public comment by yearend on expanding biofuel requirements to assure that more than 15 billion gal of conventional ethanol is blended into the nation’s motor fuel supply beginning in 2020, and that the volume obligation for biomass-based diesel is met, EPA said.
This will include accounting for relief expected to be provided for small refineries, it indicated. In the most recent compliance year, EPA granted 31 small refinery exemptions, the federal environmental regulator noted.
It said it also will initiate a rulemaking process to streamline labeling and remove other barriers to the sale of gasoline with a 15% ethanol blend. EPA also will continue to evaluate options for reforming and making its Renewable Identification Number biofuel credit system more transparent, it indicated.
USDA’s plans
USDA said it would seek opportunities through the budget process to consider infrastructure projects to facilitate higher biofuel blends.
“We are deeply concerned about the administration’s decision to, once again, play politics with our fuel system by increasing an already onerous biofuel mandate, placing greater strain on the US manufacturers he promised to protect and threatening higher costs for consumers,” API Pres. Mike Sommers and AFPM Pres. Chet Thompson jointly responded.
“The misguided reallocation of volumes punishes companies working to comply with the RFS and is an empty attempt to force more E15 into the fuel supply—a fuel nearly 70% of vehicles on the road were not designed to use. This rushed policy announcement is equivalent to changing the rules in the middle of the game and is a loser for the American consumer,” they said.
“If this arbitrary policy was conceived to help farmers, it provides no immediate relief—instead it only further distorts the fuels market. It is by no means a win-win. We will vigorously challenge this new policy in the weeks to come and continue advocating for Congress to reform the RFS,” they said.
Organizations representing corn ethanol suppliers were more sanguine. “The plan announced today takes a crucial step toward repairing the damage done by EPA’s small refinery waivers and reestablishes the RFS as a driver of growth in the production and use of low-carbon renewable fuels,” Renewable Fuels Association Pres. Geoff Cooper said. “Once finalized and implemented, this plan will ensure EPA follows the law in setting annual biofuel blending obligations under the RFS.”