Vilsack weighs in on EPA leak on RFS
October 12, 2013 | 03:24 PM
In a signal of how upsetting this week’s leak of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to lower the requirements of the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2014 has been to the Obama administration and the biofuels industry, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack late Friday broke his general silence during the government shutdown to issue a statement.
Greenwire reported on Wednesday that an August EPA proposal being circulated among stakeholders would cut the mandate to 15.21 billion gallons for renewable fuels in 2014 instead of the 18.15 billion gallons established by a 2007 law, and that the targets would be 13 billion gallons of conventional corn-based ethanol and 2.21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels such as biodiesel, down from 13.8 billion gallons and 2.75 billion gallons.
“The biofuels industry has helped reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil to its lowest level in almost 20 years and has created thousands of jobs throughout rural America,” Vilsack said in an emailed statement.
“We remain steadfast in our support of biofuels development and its role in President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy,” Vilsack said. “The EPA is currently developing its draft proposal for the 2014 renewable fuel standards. The EPA has not yet reached a final decision regarding that proposal, and will not do so until all stakeholders have had the opportunity to comment and to provide input on what is required for this industry, and the rural communities that depend on it, to continue to thrive.”
“The Obama administration remains firmly committed to furthering the development of all biofuels,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said, according to Bloomberg.
Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, whose members build and manage ethanol plants, said in a statement that his group would withhold comment.
“The 2014 RVO rulemaking process is not final, and we are not going to comment on an unverified ‘draft’ document,” Buis said. “There are many steps in the rulemaking process before a rule becomes final.”
“Unfortunately, as a result of the government shutdown, the process is on hold,” he said. “Hopefully, the shutdown ends soon, allowing the rulemaking process to resume, instead of everyone reacting to premature reporting of rumors or unverified leaks, allowing the EPA to follow proper procedures to propose a rule for everyone to comment on.”
Buis also called for an investigation of the leak.
“Obviously, someone was irresponsible in leaking such market-sensitive information,” Buis said. “Because of the dramatic economic impact on commodity markets, there should by an immediate investigation by the Justice Department, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to determine if this was an attempt to manipulate markets such as corn futures, ethanol futures and/or RINS markets.”
Greenwire reported on Wednesday that an August EPA proposal being circulated among stakeholders would cut the mandate to 15.21 billion gallons for renewable fuels in 2014 instead of the 18.15 billion gallons established by a 2007 law, and that the targets would be 13 billion gallons of conventional corn-based ethanol and 2.21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels such as biodiesel, down from 13.8 billion gallons and 2.75 billion gallons.
“The biofuels industry has helped reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil to its lowest level in almost 20 years and has created thousands of jobs throughout rural America,” Vilsack said in an emailed statement.
“We remain steadfast in our support of biofuels development and its role in President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy,” Vilsack said. “The EPA is currently developing its draft proposal for the 2014 renewable fuel standards. The EPA has not yet reached a final decision regarding that proposal, and will not do so until all stakeholders have had the opportunity to comment and to provide input on what is required for this industry, and the rural communities that depend on it, to continue to thrive.”
“The Obama administration remains firmly committed to furthering the development of all biofuels,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said, according to Bloomberg.
Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, whose members build and manage ethanol plants, said in a statement that his group would withhold comment.
“The 2014 RVO rulemaking process is not final, and we are not going to comment on an unverified ‘draft’ document,” Buis said. “There are many steps in the rulemaking process before a rule becomes final.”
“Unfortunately, as a result of the government shutdown, the process is on hold,” he said. “Hopefully, the shutdown ends soon, allowing the rulemaking process to resume, instead of everyone reacting to premature reporting of rumors or unverified leaks, allowing the EPA to follow proper procedures to propose a rule for everyone to comment on.”
Buis also called for an investigation of the leak.
“Obviously, someone was irresponsible in leaking such market-sensitive information,” Buis said. “Because of the dramatic economic impact on commodity markets, there should by an immediate investigation by the Justice Department, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to determine if this was an attempt to manipulate markets such as corn futures, ethanol futures and/or RINS markets.”
