Contact: Cassidy Walter
515-322-0435

JOHNSTON, IOWA – Today EPA announced a proposed rulemaking to extend the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance deadlines for 2019 and 2020. The 2019 extension applies only to small refineries, but the 2020 extension applies to all refineries. In response to this proposal, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw made the following statement:

“The details of today’s action by the EPA to delay RFS compliance deadlines seems to indicate very bad news is headed toward farm country.

“If EPA were only delaying the deadlines because of pending small refinery exemptions, then they would only delay the deadlines for small refineries. In fact, that’s exactly what they did for 2019. But the EPA proposed delaying the 2020 deadline for all obligated parties. This discrepancy appears to support the rumors and reports that EPA is preparing to take the unprecedented and illegal step of reopening the finalized 2020 RFS rule in order to reduce the volumes and destroy biofuel demand.

“We hope we are wrong and the difference can be explained away, but the different treatment of the compliance years must be for a reason. It is absolutely perplexing why the Biden EPA would delay and potentially plan to undermine the only federal law that is designed to reduce carbon emissions. To do so now, at a time of high gasoline prices, makes this action doubly confounding. IRFA urges the Biden EPA to follow the law and to implement the RFS fully and faithfully.”

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 42 ethanol refineries capable of producing 4.5 billion gallons annually – including 34 million gallons of annual cellulosic ethanol production capacity – and 11 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce 410 million gallons annually. For more information, visit the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association website at: www.IowaRFA.org.

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