Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen says he has been talking with a special regulatory adviser to President Trump about how they might work together on regulatory changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), but it involves compromising on the point of obligation issue. Dinneen issued a statement regarding a call he received from “an official with …
Confirmations Continue to Crawl Along
Confirmation hearings for Trump administration cabinet members have been moving slowly, so it may be toward the end of February before Sonny Perdue is confirmed as Secretary of Agriculture, but he has been meeting with lawmakers in the meantime. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) “had a good conversation” with the former governor of Georgia last week where they discussed “regional differences …
No Impact on RFS Expected from Regulation Freeze
As soon as he took office, President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on regulations that were promulgated by the federal government before he took office, including the Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) requirements for this year under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) which were announced in late November. In a statement, Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen said the …
Trump EPA Nominee Questioned on RFS
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt answered questions about his support of renewable fuels during his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President-elect Donald Trump. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, asked Pruitt about his commitment to uphold the congressional intent of the Renewable …
Iowa RFA Expresses Concerns with Trump Ag Choice
President-elect Donald Trump will officially round out his cabinet by nominating former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue as Secretary of Agriculture just a little more than 24 hours before the inauguration. As word about the choice spread Wednesday evening, most groups were waiting until the official announcement to respond, but one of the first was the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, which …
#Ethanol Report on Cabinet Picks
Some ethanol interests may be getting a little nervous about the oil industry ties of several Trump administration cabinet selections. Those include former Texas Governor Rick Perry for energy secretary, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt for EPA administrator and ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. In this Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen says …
Hearing Addresses #RFS Management
The Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management held a hearing yesterday examining two reports by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) released this week. The hearing included testimony from Frank Rusco, GAO Director Natural Resources and Environment and Janet McCabe, EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation …
Congress Urged to Extend Biofuel Tax Incentives
It’s time once again for the annual push to Congress to extend tax incentives before the end of the year, a plea which is usually ignored. Renewable energy organizations sent letters to Congressional leadership this week calling for a multi-year extension of the Second Generation Biofuel Producer Tax Credit, the Special Depreciation Allowance for Second Generation Biofuel Plant Property, the …
Governors’ Biofuels Coalition Turns 25
The Governors’ Biofuels Coalition is celebrating its silver anniversary this month. “No one would have guessed that a meeting I had with Iowa Governor Terry Branstad 25 years ago this month, in the basement of the governor’s mansion in Lincoln, Nebraska, would lead to the formation of a group of governors who changed the nation’s energy history,” said former Nebraska …
Nebraska Congressman Visits #ACE16DC
All Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) wants is for consumers to be able to have the choice to fill up with 15% ethanol all year long. That’s why he introduced H.R. 1736 to extend the current EPA Reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver to include E15. “My bill would reverse this antiquated, non-scientific regulation out of EPA that was created in 1990,” …