Reaction from the ethanol industry started coming out just minutes after the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would deny a request to cut the Renewable Fuels Standard.

Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen calls the decision “an important victory for all Americans.”

“Today’s EPA decision recognizes the importance of biofuels to the American economy,” Dinneen said in a statement. “The Renewable Fuels Standard is critical to our nation’s goals of reducing oil imports, addressing environmental challenges and developing the promising next generation of biofuels from cellulosic feedstocks.”

POET, the world’s largest ethanol producer, praised the EPA ruling.

“For months, special interest groups seeking to defend the energy status quo have attempted to lay all of the blame for rising food costs at the feet of the ethanol industry,” said Rob Skjonsberg, Vice President of Government Affairs for POET. “But the fact of the matter is that virtually every independent study has shown that ethanol’s impact on food prices is minimal while its impact on lowering gas prices is substantial.”

Iowa Renewable Fuels Association executive director Monte Shaw noted the recent 20 percent drop in the price of corn and said “right now ethanol producers are making more ethanol than ever, and yet the price of corn has gone down. It should be obvious that the argument that ethanol and biofuels causes higher prices has little merit.”

The biodiesel industry is also pleased with the ruling. National Biodiesel Board CEO Joe Jobe said, “It is important to note that all renewable fuels qualify for the current RFS. In fact, if the RFS is waived or cut in half in 2008, then the growth of all biofuels, including “advanced biofuels” such as biodiesel, would be severely hindered.”