The Renewable Fuels Association has received new grants to support its safety education program through on-site seminars and on-line webinars via the association’s work with TRANSCAER, a voluntary national effort that focuses on hazardous material transportation incident preparation for communities. “One of the strengths that sets our association apart is our whole-industry focus that includes high-quality technical assistance such as …
US Ethanol Exporters and Brazil Importers Oppose TRQ
Exporters of U.S. ethanol and Brazilian importers of the same are united in opposition to the Brazilian government action amending the recent August 31st rule that raised the tariff rate quota (TRQ) on U.S. ethanol imports from 600 million to nearly 750 million liters per year. The TRQ regulates the threshold of ethanol that can be imported into Brazil without …
House Subcommittee Hearing to Address RFS Waiver Abuse
“Protecting the RFS: The Trump Administration’s Abuse of Secret Waivers,” is the title of a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing scheduled for next Tuesday October 29. The Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee hearing will focus on EPA’s “mismanagement of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program” and will also examine H.R. 3006, the Renewable Fuel Standard Integrity Act of 2019, …
New Court Docs Show EPA Abuse of Waivers
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today highlighted newly available court documents which show how EPA “inappropriately granted Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance exemptions to certain small refineries that did not even qualify for the waivers, and that there was division within the Trump administration about its new approach to small refinery hardship exemption requests.” Specifically, the briefs and supporting documents …
Trump Praises Refinery Waivers
During a cabinet meeting on Monday, President Donald Trump praised EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler for making small refineries happy by granting them waivers from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “And I know you’re working on the small refineries — getting that straightened away so that it’s going to be terrific for the small refineries,” President Trump said to Wheeler. “They’ve …
USDA Deputy Reassures Senators About EPA Proposal
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a hearing Thursday to hear from USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Censky regarding implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill, but several senators were more concerned about the EPA supplemental proposal out this week. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) was first to ask about it. “I can just assure you directly from conversations with …
Ethanol Report on RFA Reaction to EPA Proposal
The Environmental Protection Agency issued a Supplemental Proposal for Renewable Fuels Volumes October 15, following up on the administration plan announced October 4. However, biofuel groups were surprised to find that the proposal is very different than the promise. “Simply put, this proposal is not what was promised by the administration just over a week ago and fails to answer …
No More Iowa Nice
No more Mr. Iowa Nice Guy. That was a message delivered during a press conference with representatives of Iowa’s corn, ethanol, biodiesel and soybean producers in response to the Supplemental Proposal for Renewable Fuels Volumes released Tuesday by EPA. Iowa Corn Growers Association CEO Craig Floss quoted one farmer who is outraged over the proposal. “No more Iowa Nice, now …
Biofuels Groups Disappointed With EPA Proposal
Less than two weeks ago biofuels organizations and stakeholders were praising the Trump Administration agreement to promote biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Now that the details have been made public, not so much. The notice released by EPA on Tuesday “does not change the proposed volumes for 2020 and 2021. Instead, it proposes and seeks comment on adjustments …
Trump Remarks Seem to Contradict EPA Plan
Since the October 4 announcement, President Donald Trump mentioned the plan negotiated by the administration to address small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard at least twice while addressing farmers and ranchers. Those comments appear to contradict the EPA proposal released Tuesday which industry representatives say will likely not even result in maintaining the 15 billion gallons required under …