Federal forecasts in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) newly released Annual Energy Outlook 2018 (AEO2018) demonstrate a clear and growing need for U.S. biofuels says Chris Bliley, vice president of regulatory affairs at Growth Energy. The EIA “reference” case, which contains projections through 2050 based on current trends and regulations, predicts an 18 percent increase in miles traveled by …
USDA: Pesticide Residue Levels Show No Risk to Consumers
More than 20 percent of the food sampled by the USDA in 2016 showed no detectable pesticide levels and less than .5 percent of the food had detectable residue levels above limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency. A USDA report titled “What Consumers Should Know” says, again this year, the U.S. food supply is one of the safest in …
Fix Emissions Reporting Law For Farmers, Says NPPC
The National Pork Producers Council asked Congress for a legislative fix to a federal emergency response law that now requires farmers to report emissions from the natural breakdown of manure to the U.S. Coast Guard. Testifying on behalf of NPPC, Dr. Howard Hill told members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works that livestock producers and the U.S. …
Issues with Implementing Air Emissions Reporting
A federal court did grant the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) another extension of a livestock emissions reporting deadline. The delay in reporting air emissions from animal waste will now last until May 1st. Last April, the D.C. U.S. Court of Appeals rejected an exemption for farm reporting of “hazardous” emissions under federal emergency response laws. But National Pork Producers Council …
EPA, Army Corps, Sign WOTUS Delay
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has signed an order to block the Waters of the U.S. Rule. A hold of the rule placed in 2015 will soon be lifted by a federal appeals court following the Supreme Court ruling that says jurisdiction of the rule lies in federal district courts, not appeals courts. Pruitt appeared at the National …
EPA Sends WOTUS Delay Rule to White House
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sent a final rule to the White House that would prevent the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Rule from taking effect. The EPA rushed the rule to the White House because of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling placing the legal jurisdiction of the rule in federal district courts, not federal appeals courts, where …
Grain Sorghum Is Now an Advanced Biofuel
The Environmental Protection Agency recently released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding sorghum and advanced biofuels. Growth Energy says the release had to do with the life-cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions associated with biofuels that are produced from grain sorghum oil extracted at dry-mill ethanol plants. The agency says in evaluating the product, the GHG emissions of producing biofuels from distillers’ …
EPA to Finalize WOTUS Repeal in April
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to complete formal repeal of the Waters of the U.S. Rule in April 2018. Politico reports an updated regulatory agenda from the White House also shows a replacement rule is scheduled for proposal in May. A final version of the rule is not expected until June 2019. President Donald Trump issued an executive order …
EPA Given More Time to Implement Manure Air Emissions Reporting
A federal court is giving the EPA more time to implement a controversial manure air emissions reporting requirement that has the livestock industry crying ‘foul.’ The National Pork Producers Association backed the EPA in the agency’s request to the US Court of Appeals for DC last month for more time to comply with the court’s air emissions reporting order. NPPC’s …
Growth Energy Applauds EPA RVO Announcement
Growth Energy called Thursday’s volume obligation announcement for the 2018 Renewable Fuel Standard a move that gives the biofuels industry much needed certainty. The announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency upholds the statutory targets for conventional biofuels. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor applauded the announcement. Announcement The total renewable fuel volume is 19.29 billion gallons, which includes 15 billion gallons …