The Environmental Protection Agency’s Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation had some breaking news at the National Ethanol Conference in Orlando Wednesday – the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Set 2 final rule has been sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
EPA’s Aaron Szabo said during his address that he expects the rule will be finalized before the end of March.”This is after constant work and deliberation by our fantastic team in OAR in consultation with other federal workers in the federal government,” Szabo said. He emphasized the rule’s development involved extensive public input, including five days of hearings with over 140 speakers and more than 2,000 comments. Szabo noted that resolving small refinery exemptions first, as requested by stakeholders, added complexity but provided needed certainty. “We have not delayed this rule for any reason or by any request. This is really hard, and we want to make sure we do it right to give you all the certainty you all ask for and deserve,” he added.
When it comes to E15, Szabo talked about EPA’s role in keeping the pumps open in the summer of 2025 with the emergency fuel waivers. “These waivers were grounded in our statutory authority. They were timely, and they reinforced something important: Ethanol is an essential part of fuel supply stability,” he stated.
However, Szabo said, “Last spring was not how I would like to move forward this spring. The uncertainty resulting in the PSI requirement changes at the last minute resulted in significant unnecessary costs within the industry and on Americans.”
Finally, Szabo addressed the EV mandate, celebrating the February 12 rescission of the 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding and repeal of all GHG standards for vehicles. “This action… is the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history and will save Americans over $1.3 trillion,” he proclaimed, including $2,400 average per-vehicle savings. He criticized prior policies for pushing a “de facto mandate favoring a single technology pathway, electric vehicles,” threatening liquid fuels and the RFS. “There is no E15, there is no RFS if we do not have liquid fuels.”
Listen to Szabo’s comments at NEC here:
U.S. EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, Aaron Szabo
NEC26 Aaron Szabo, EPA (28:48)