The National Biodiesel Board’s (NBB) message to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pretty simple: You got it WRONG! During last week’s hearing on the EPA’s proposed reduction in the amount of biodiesel and ethanol that will be mixed into the country’s fuel supply, Vice President of Federal Affairs for NBB Anne Steckel told those at the hearing that the proposal could cost jobs and hurt an industry that thought it was on the right track.

“This is a very dramatic thing the EPA has done, and we’re trying to set the record straight,” Anne said in an interview with me, adding that more that two dozen biodiesel producers also made the trip to the Nation’s capital to make the case for the green fuel … a pretty strong one when you look at the facts. “Biodiesel is an advanced biofuel, so we’re lessening greenhouse gas emissions significantly, we’re helping out with the economy, we’re supporting more than 62,000 jobs across the country, we have diversified our feedstocks, and those feedstock prices are low. So for EPA to put this out is very shocking.”

Anne said it looks like EPA just cut-and-paste the data from 2011 and ignored the most recent updates the industry gave it. She stressed that this hearing isn’t the only opportunity to let the EPA know of its mistake. She’s encouraging all biodiesel advocates to contact officials and let them know the biomass-based diesel number should be at least 1.7 billion gallons. The NBB is even providing a template for a letter on its website to help make it easier to have more voices heard between now and the end of the comment period at the end of January.

“Every voice really counts.”

Listen to my interview with Anne here: Anne Steckel, Vice President of Federal Affairs for NBB