The public hearing in Kansas City, Kansas last week on EPA’s proposed volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard was a who’s who of the biofuels industry and then some. A total of 254 people on 43 panels testified in two different rooms for about seven and a half hours. It was over twice as many people who testified at …
RFA Chairman to EPA: Tear Down the Blend Wall
Testifying at a public hearing on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and rally in Kansas City, Kansas Thursday, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) board chairman Randy Doyal urged EPA to “tear down the blend wall” and implement the statute as Congress intended. In his testimony at the hearing, the CEO of Minnesota-based Al-Corn Clean Fuel said that even though gasoline consumption …
EPA Official Ready for Long Day
Hundreds of stakeholders are gathered in Kansas City, Kansas for a public hearing on the proposed volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Chris Grundler, Director of EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, is the official in charge and he took a few minutes this morning to sit down with AgriTalk and discuss the proposal and his expectations …
EPA Officials Visit Kansas Ethanol Plant
In advance of a public hearing in Kansas City on the proposed volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials visited East Kansas Agri-Energy (EKAE) in Garnett, Kansas Wednesday. Federal and regional EPA personnel toured the 45 million gallon per year corn ethanol plant, examined progress on EKAE’s co-located renewable diesel project, and discussed the importance …
RFA Supports American Agri-Women
The ethanol industry is supporting women in agriculture. The Renewable Fuels Association and Syngenta, maker of ethanol friendly Enogen corn, join a growing group of sponsors of the American Agri-Women Drive Across America. The nation’s largest coalition of farm, ranch and agri-business women, is celebrating 40 years of advocating for agriculture with its “Drive Across America.” AAW President Sue McCrum …
Building Markets for Ethanol Exports
Expanding export markets for U.S. ethanol was the focus last month as a group of industry representatives to Mexico and Japan on trade missions coordinated through a partnership between the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), U.S. Grains Council and Growth Energy. RFA Director of Regulatory Affairs Kelly Davis says they saw exceptional opportunities in Mexico. “I left very excited about a …
Ethanol Report from Washington DC
Domestic Fuel stopped by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) office in Washington DC Wednesday to visit with president and CEO Bob Dinneen and discuss the latest with the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and expectations for next week’s EPA hearing in Kansas City. Following his appearance on a Fuels America press call, Dinneen addressed yet another bill introduced this week to …
To EPA – Get the RFS Back on Track
The biofuels industry is reacting to what is being called an “unfriendly” hearing being held tomorrow by the Senate Homeland Security Committee as well as to a press briefing held earlier today by the American Petroleum Institute (API), who industry supporters say is seeking a means to end the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The hearing, “Re-examining EPA’s Management of the Renewable …
RFA Names New Communications Director
A man with a professional background in ag communications is the new communications director for the Renewable Fuels Association. The group says Tony Jackson, a former Director of External Affairs for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency and counsel for the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, is also a graduate of Boston College Law School. “We are thrilled to …
What Food Safety Act Means for Ethanol Plants
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law in 2011 and this summer the rulemaking for the new act might finally be complete. Because it includes safety of animal food as well as human food, ethanol plants that produce the co-product distillers grains for livestock feed are impacted. Renewable Fuels Association Director of Regulatory Affairs Kelly Davis talked …