Officials Clarify that EPA Proposal Does Not Reflect Deal with President Trump

Contact: Cassidy Walter
515-252-6249

JOHNSTON, IOWA – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst today submitted official comments to EPA calling on the agency to finalize an RFS rule that provides certainty for biofuels and reflects the deal they struck with President Trump on September 12. The comments are in response to EPA’s proposed RFS rule intended to restore integrity to the renewable fuel standard (RFS) that has been lost to small refinery exemptions (SREs).

“We applaud Gov. Reynolds and Sens. Grassley and Ernst for leading the fight to repair the RFS,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Executive Director Monte Shaw. “When the EPA proposal came out, IRFA was proud to stand alongside Iowa Corn, Iowa Soybeans and the Iowa Biodiesel Board to condemn the rule as falling short – short of fixing the SRE problem and short of adhering to what President Trump had promised our elected officials. Today, Iowa’s elected leaders are saying loudly and clearly that EPA must adopt a real-world fix. Agriculture is suffering right now, and EPA has the ability to help by providing certainty for the RFS. EPA needs to make it right.”

In her comments, Gov. Reynolds noted: “The Renewable Fuels Standard that is intended to protect an important market for corn and soybeans is being undercut by the same government that promised to defend it… This proposed supplemental rule has created even more uncertainty in the market.”

Sen. Grassley wrote: “The way the rule was written and put out for public comment does not deliver on the same understanding I had leaving the Oval Office… we discussed a very specific proposal to consider the three-year rolling average of actual exemptions granted by EPA including the specific numbers.”

Sen. Ernst stated: “The Supplemental Notice clearly and directly provides the Agency with continued flexibility to waive more gallons than it reallocates…Given EPA’s implementation of the RFS for the last three years; however, we are rightfully low on trust…It is time again for the EPA to get this policy right, respect the President’s intent, and uphold the law as it was written.”

Rural America is uniting with its elected champions to demand EPA fix the RFS rule. On Monday, a broad coalition of 60 agricultural and biofuels groups sent a letter to the White House calling on President Trump to fix the flawed proposal from EPA, which “fails in its mission to reinvigorate farm economies and reopen biofuel plants across America’s heartland.” The full text of the letter and a list of signers is available here.

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association represents the state’s liquid renewable fuels industry and works to foster its growth. Iowa is the nation’s leader in renewable fuels production with 43 ethanol refineries capable of producing over 4.5 billion gallons annually – including 34 million gallons of annual cellulosic ethanol production capacity – and 11 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce nearly 400 million gallons annually. For more information, visit the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association website at: www.IowaRFA.org.

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