Thirty members of Congress have asked EPA to abandon its proposal to reduce the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The lawmakers sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy urging her to abandon the proposal that would cut the RFS to below the levels legislated by Congress in 2007 under the Energy Independence and Security Act.
The letter claimed the proposal would hurt rural communities, push up fuel costs and worsen the nation's addiction to imported oil. "The significant reduction in renewable volume obligations under this proposed rule could destabilize the renewable fuel industry and send the wrong message to investors," they wrote.
The 30 House lawmakers, mostly from agriculture-heavy states including South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, said the Obama administration should push forward with an ethanol policy consistent with the Renewable Fuel Standard put in place in 2005 and revised two years later by Congress.
In December, Charles Grundler, head of EPA's Transportation and Air Quality Office, said that the "blend wall" has been reached and it's unrealistic to expect refiners and retailers to offer E-15 or other blends that the current petroleum infrastructure can't support and that many vehicles cannot use. During a Senate hearing, Grundler said EPA recognizes it’s not feasible for gasoline refiners to meet the 2014 ethanol mandate, which is why the agency released its proposal late last year to ease the requirement.
Subscribe to Updates
NATSO provides a breadth of information created to strengthen travel plazas’ ability to meet the needs of the travelling public in an age of disruption. This includes knowledge filled blog posts, articles and publications. If you would like to receive a digest of blog post and articles directly in your inbox, please provide your name, email and the frequency of the updates you want to receive the email digest.
