Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt spent part of a trip in Kansas at an ethanol production facility. Pruitt’s trip included a stop at the East Kansas Agri-Energy ethanol plant, along with meeting local agriculture groups. The visit comes a week after the White House stopped a proposal that ethanol groups say would harm the industry, allowing RIN exports, …
Cruz Still Pushing for Biofuels Overhaul
The lead Senator pushing for biofuels reform, Ted Cruz, met with Environmental Protection Agency Chief Scott Pruitt, one day after the White House announced a biofuels deal fell through. Pruitt had dinner with the Texas Republican on Wednesday night and declined to comment after it was over. Cruz did say the meeting was about the Renewable Fuels Standard and was …
USDA Announces $309 Million Investment in Rural Electric Utilities
Loans Will Improve System Efficiency and Resiliency in 12 States Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett announced that USDA is investing $309 million in 16 projects (PDF, 107 KB) to improve rural electric infrastructure in 12 states. “Robust, modern infrastructure is a foundation for quality of life and economic opportunity no matter the zip code in which you live,” …
No RFS Changes From the White House, For Now
President Trump indicated he would not be signing a White House proposal that was “bad for farmers,” referring to the proposal offering changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard. The pledge followed an apparent conversation with Iowa Senator Joni Ernst. Further, the comments came the same day Ernst criticized Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt over his handling of the …
Ernst Expresses Frustration with EPA
Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa expressed deep frustration Tuesday regarding the Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump. Speaking of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Ernst told an energy symposium in Washington, D.C. “If the President wants to drain the swamp, he needs to take a look at his own cabinet.” Pruitt has been a target of biofuels states after granting …
Trump Voters in Midwest States Losing Faith in Administration’s Commitment to Renewable Fuels
New polling shows that voters across three Midwestern states are disappointed with Trump Administration decisions regarding biofuels. Released by the National Biodiesel Board this week, a survey of voters in Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota overwhelmingly say they support federal policies to encourage growth in biodiesel and renewable fuels use. Their support cut across party lines, with more than two-thirds of …
Farm and Biofuel Coalition Demands that EPA Account for Lost Volumes
Coalition Petitions EPA to Revise the Way It Calculates Annual Renewable Fuel Obligations; EPA Is Failing to Comply with Statutory Mandate A coalition of biofuel and agriculture groups petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to change its regulations to account for lost volumes of renewable fuel resulting from the unprecedented number of retroactive small refinery exemptions from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) …
EPA Awards Biofuel Waivers Worth Tens of Millions of Dollars
A Reuters report says the Environmental Protection Agency has awarded tens of millions of dollars’ worth of biofuel blending credits for this year to refiners HollyFrontier and Sinclair Oil. Two sources tell Reuters the refiners argued that the agency had wrongly denied them waivers from the country’s biofuels law as far back as 2014. It’s likely to add fuel to …
RVP Period Begins Friday as Fuel Prices Climb Higher
Friday is the beginning of the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) restriction on E15 sales across most of the country during the summer driving season. The restriction runs from June 1 to September 15. It comes at a time when American drivers would benefit greatly from some relief at the pump. Instead, consumers are barred from purchasing lower cost fuel at …
Ethanol Coalition Sues EPA Over Secretive RFS Waivers
An ethanol coalition has filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The Renewable Fuels Association, the Advanced Coalition for Ethanol, National Corn Growers, and the National Farmers Union are suing the EPA to challenge several waivers to the Renewable Fuels Standard, given out in secret to several profitable refineries. The …