The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday announced several steps being taken to protect the nation’s gasoline supply in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including making any changes in its policy of granting small refinery waivers as a result of the recent 10th Circuit Court decision. EPA does not intend to unilaterally revisit or rescind any previously granted small …
Administration Will Not Appeal Tenth Circuit SRE Ruling
Biofuels stakeholders are celebrating some good news today with word that the Trump administration had made the decision not to request a rehearing of the recent unanimous ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit that the EPA had “vastly exceeded its authority in granting exemptions from 2016 and 2017 RFS requirements to three refineries.” The challenge …
Coalition Launches Drop the Appeal Campaign
The Trump Administration needs to make a decision by March 23 whether to appeal the unanimous 10th Circuit Court decision against the EPA’s small refinery exemption program, and the coalition that brought the case has launched a new social media campaign urging the administration to drop the appeal. The coalition, made up of the Renewable Fuels Association, National Corn Growers …
ACE Cancels April DC Fly-in
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has canceled its annual Washington, D.C. Fly-in and Government Affairs Summit scheduled for next month due to the number of congressional offices declining meeting requests in response to concerns about the rapid spread of COVID-19. Many congressional offices have notified ACE they are not scheduling “any in-person meetings for the foreseeable future due to …
Ethanol Case Groups Disappointed in Appeal Extension
The four organizations involved in the case against the Environmental Protection Agency over granting of small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) are disappointed the Trump Administration has been granted more time to consider an appeal of the court decision siding with the plaintiffs. The petitioners in the case—the Renewable Fuels Association, National Corn Growers Association, American Coalition …
ACE Leadership Attending Ethanol Plant Annual Meetings
It’s annual meeting time for ethanol plants around the Midwest and American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings is attending many of them in the coming weeks to commend the producers for enduring a tough year, and provide an update on the opportunities and challenges ahead for growing the demand for ethanol. Jennings visited Golden Grain Energy in Mason …
Comments Submitted for USDA Infrastructure Program
Biofuels organizations submitted comments this week on USDA’s proposed Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) to expand the availability of domestic ethanol and biodiesel by incentivizing the expansion of sales of renewable fuels and facilitating increased sales of higher biofuel blends (E15 or higher). The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) made a number of recommendations that USDA should consider in …
ACE Announces 2020 DC Fly-in
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) 12th annual Washington, D.C. Fly-in and Government Affairs Summit will take place April 2-3. “Our priorities will include defending the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) from refinery waivers, influencing proposals from EPA and USDA to support the sale of E15 and higher blends, and encouraging Congress to introduce legislation to increase ethanol use through a …
Court Strikes Down EPA Small Refinery Exemptions
On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit struck down three small refinery exemptions (SREs) that were improperly issued by Environmental Protection Agency under a May 2018 case brought against EPA by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), the National Corn Growers Association, the American Coalition for Ethanol and National Farmers Union. The three refineries are owned by …
Ethanol Industry Mourns Loss of Ray Defenbaugh
The ethanol industry is mourning the loss this week of pioneer and advocate Ray Defenbaugh, who was a founding member, president, CEO, and chairman of Big River Resources, with facilities in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Defenbaugh served on the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) board since 2005 and was a member of the Executive Committee. “Ray’s contributions to rural America, the …