The National Corn Growers Association commended Reps. David Young, R-Iowa, and Collin Peterson, D-Minn., today on the introduction of the Restoring Our Commitment to Renewable Fuels Act to keep the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) whole. Their legislation specifically requires that, when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants exemptions to small refineries, each exempted gallon be reallocated to other refineries and blenders. The bill also stipulates that small refinery exemption petitions be subject to public disclosure.
Although the RFS provides EPA with the tools to ensure exemptions are accounted for when setting RFS volumes, EPA is not using them. EPA has retroactively waived 2.25 billion ethanol-equivalent gallons and failed to reallocate those gallons to others, effectively reducing RFS requirements. This legislation specifically requires EPA to make up waived gallons and ensures EPA is no longer able to reduce the RFS through retroactive refinery waivers. It also brings essential transparency to the small refinery exemption process.
Recent analysis from the University of Missouri’s Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) shows the impact of refinery waivers and the importance of requiring EPA to keep the RFS whole. According to FAPRI, if EPA continues to issue retroactive refinery exemptions, the demand destruction for corn farmers will amount to 300 million bushels per year due to lower RFS volumes and lower ethanol blending.
For the analysis from FAPRI, click here.
Click here to learn more about the legislation.
Sustainability
U.S. Corn farmers are committed to continuous improvement in the production of corn, a versatile crop providing abundant high-quality food, feed, renewable energy, biobased products, and ecosystem services.
Ethanol
Corn ethanol is critical for a sustainable, clean energy future.
A Commitment to the Future
