Omaha, Neb. — Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor offered up tough questions to greet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt during his expected travel through farm communities in Kansas, South Dakota, and Nebraska.
Pruitt is not expected to appear before the media, but local agricultural stakeholders may be able to question the regulator about the EPA’s efforts to undercut U.S. biofuel consumption, a key source of demand for grain amid the five-year plunge in farm income. As recently as last week, the administrator sought to advance regulatory changes targeting the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) – changes the president rejected. In the spirit of opening a candid dialogue about the concerns of rural communities, Skor suggested the following questions:
On Tuesday, June 12, Skor also will deliver the keynote address at the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo (FEW), the “largest, longest running ethanol conference in the world” in Omaha, Nebraska. Thousands of attendees and hundreds of exhibitors will be on hand to hear Skor outline the biofuel industry’s efforts to increase U.S. ethanol consumption, create rural jobs, and protect farmers from hostile regulation.
“Administrator Pruitt has been working behind-the-scenes to dismantle the RFS by handing out secret waivers, allowing oil giants to replace U.S. ethanol with petroleum products and destroying more than a billion gallons of domestic demand – taking us back to 2013 blending levels,” says Skor, according to prepared remarks she will deliver at FEW. “Even USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue has agreed with us that this is nothing more than demand destruction, and it must stop.”
“Americans deserve year-round access to high-octane biofuels – now,” adds Skor.
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