EPA Rules on Ethanol in Fuel
The Environmental Protection Agency released a decision in May that eases requirements on how much ethanol goes into the nation’s fuel mix, citing market restraints and other challenges preventing compliance with a 2007 law.
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“The only beneficiary of the EPA’s decision is Big Oil, which has continuously sought to undermine the development of clean, renewable fuels.”
Chip Bowling – |
The law requires refiners to blend an increasing amount of biofuels into the U.S. gasoline supply each year. The EPA was late in setting the ethanol quotas for 2014 and 2015, so the decision in May included requirements for 2014, which resembled actual use, the current year, and 2016.
The EPA called for an increase in the levels of ethanol in the fuel mix, but it is less than what was established under the 2007 law.
The collection of industries with a stake in the ethanol debate is diverse: car makers, corn growers, livestock farmers, oil producers, and environmentalists. The parties do not align on this issue in predictable fashion. Increased demand for ethanol is good for corn growers, for example, but not for livestock farmers because it drives up the cost of corn.
A statement from the National Corn Growers Association said cutting the corn ethanol obligation diminishes the demand for corn by 1.5 billion bushels.
“The only beneficiary of the EPA’s decision is Big Oil,” said Chip Bowling, president of the NCGA, “which has continuously sought to undermine the development of clean, renewable fuels.”
Bowling said the NCGA is evaluating its legal options. S