The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking a “new tone” with a change in leadership. Andrew Wheeler, who now serves as the acting administrator of the EPA, is aiming for a more transparent direction with “a change coming,” compared to how former administrator Scott Pruitt ran the agency. The EPA says Wheeler will be open about his schedule, speaking engagements and …
EPA Considering Dicamba Registration as Injury Reports Climb
Herbicide injury reports are mounting in the South and the Midwest. A DTN report says state regulators and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are looking at the situation carefully. Most of the damage reports revolve around dicamba. However, there are 2,4-D damage reports coming out of the southern states. Most of the dicamba injury complaints are coming out of the …
EPA RFS Volumes Proposal Expected Friday
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to roll out a proposal for volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2019 Friday, June 22, 2018. Some suspect the proposal will include a reallocation of gallons displaced by hardship waivers, according to Politico. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said late last month that he spoke with EPA administrator Scott Pruitt about the …
EPA Admin Says EPA Will Move on Year-Round E15
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, …
Farm Bureau Files Brief Supporting Water Rule Opponents
The American Farm Bureau Federation, together with a broad coalition of other farm and business groups, filed a brief in support of 13 states challenging the EPA’s 2015 “Waters of the United States” rule before a federal district court in North Dakota. The brief explains how EPA repeatedly broke the law in writing a rule that would vastly expand its …
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 …
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 …
USDA-EPA Discuss Year-Round E15
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials met to discuss ways to increase ethanol usage and to address refiner concerns about volatility in the market for biofuel credits. An Agri-Pulse report says the meeting followed months of discussions at the White House on the issue. It also follows months of concerns over the way EPA Administrator …
Farmers Union Wants Immediate Action on E15 Waiver
The Environmental Protection Agency’s delay in allowing year-round use of E15 gasoline threatens to harm markets for family farmers. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson wrote a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, urging the EPA to immediately institute a waiver for summertime sales of E15. Johnson says the year-round use of E15 would have significant benefits for farmers, the …
Senators Want Answers on RFS Economic Hardship Waiver to CVR
A group of senators is seeking more information regarding an economic hardship waiver under the Renewable Fuel Standard sent to CVR Energy, owned by Carl Icahn. The group of Democrats, including Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin and Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar, sent letters seeking information to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and Icahn, the billionaire former adviser to President Trump and Chairman …