Midwest Republican senators request Trump correct policy on Renewable Fuel Standard

U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Roy Blunt (R-MO) this week reiterated recommendations that the Trump administration take corrective action on its proposed supplemental Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rulemaking.

“This supplemental rulemaking is an opportunity to definitively restore integrity to the RFS, provide certainty for American agriculture, and further bolster our energy independence,” the senators wrote in a Nov. 15 letter sent to President Donald Trump.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an RFS supplemental rule toward finalizing the year-round sale of E15, which is gasoline blended with 10.5 percent to 15 percent ethanol.

While calling the rule “a milestone victory for American consumers and agriculture stakeholders,” the senators wrote that such “progress will be erased unless the EPA begins to account for small refinery waivers (SREs) when setting future blending obligations.”

They reminded the president that a Sept. 12 meeting that Trump convened at the White House provided a framework that the EPA could incorporate into the supplemental rule “for getting the RFS back on track.”

“The reforms were built on a foundation of ensuring that at least 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuel are blended, accounting for waivers by using a three-year rolling average of actual volumes waived by SREs,” according to their letter. “The framework would also reduce barriers to market, such as burdensome labeling requirements and fuel pump limitations, as well as coordinate infrastructure investment.”

However, the senators pointed to comments they enclosed with their letter responding to the proposed supplemental rule in which they said the EPA’s action falls “far short of what was agreed to in the Oval Office.”

Their assessment, added the senators, is also shared by ethanol, biodiesel and other agriculture stakeholders and has been confirmed by leading market indicators.

“This supplemental rulemaking is an opportunity to definitively restore integrity to the RFS, provide certainty for American agriculture, and further bolster our energy independence,” wrote the senators. “We are confident that reverting to the agreed-upon framework to account for actual waived gallons will deliver on your agenda to support thousands of agriculture jobs throughout the Midwest and nation.”