After a two-month delay, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally announced the final rule for the implementation of the second phase of the Renewable Fuel Standard, aka RFS2. As part of the rules, the EPA will both set the national mandatory blend levels as well as monitor compliance through its new reporting system. The monitoring system will also track carbon emissions of fuels which will be required to be reduced as the RFS progresses.

“EPA was right to recognize that ethanol from all sources provides significant carbon benefits compared to gasoline,” said Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen. “As structured, the RFS is a workable program that will achieve the stated policy goals of reduced oil dependence, economic opportunity, and environmental stewardship.”

Dinneen continued, “The RFS is the public policy building block upon which America’s renewable fuels industry will be built. Today’s industry and tomorrow’s ethanol producers require stable federal policy that provides them the market assurances they need to commercialize new technologies. To that end, EPA has achieved that goal.”

RFA expressed their disappointment once again with EPA’s reliance on unproven science and reiterated that regardless of what “science” is used for the GHG calculations, all ethanol boasts an improvement over gasoline. Despite the areas where RFA disagrees with the new rules, they stated, “At the end of the day, the RFS is public policy that can and will work effectively.”

Click here to read RFA’s full response to the rules.

Listen to “The Ethanol Report” for an interview with RFA’s Matt Hartwig on the decision.