The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended its public comment period on its proposal to change the requirements to the Renewable Fuels Standard.

The National Biodiesel Board was already upset that the proposal would keep soy-based biodiesel from qualifying for the RFS, and now, this Des Moines Register story says the 60-day extension on comments on that proposal will delay the biodiesel mandate from going into effect:

“This will provide additional hardship to the U.S. biodiesel industry,” the board said. The mandate was to start at 500 million gallons this year and rise to a billion gallons by 2012.

“It’s important that the rule gets finished to provide market certainty because biodiesel is not in very good shape,” said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Ia.

As you might remember from my post back on June 29, 2009 the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009… aka the Climate Bill… will exempt current biodiesel producers from meeting certain emission rules that might have sunk them. It passed the U.S. House and is now awaiting aciton in the Senate.