WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its supplemental proposal to the proposed 2020 renewable volume obligations. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor issued the following statement:
“It is unconscionable that EPA’s proposal betrays President Trump’s promise to rural America. A week ago, Administrator Wheeler personally took to the airwaves and promised Iowa farmers that he would accurately account for lost gallons moving forward based on the ‘last three years of the waivers.’ Administration officials repeatedly said that 15 billion gallons will mean 15 billion gallons and this proposal fails to ensure that farm families and biofuel producers have the certainty they need to reinvest and rebuild after three years of massive demand destruction at the hands of EPA.
“After completely ignoring Department of Energy (DOE) advice to reduce exemptions, EPA now proposes to use DOE’s deflated numbers to turn a real fix into little more than a Band-Aid. To effectively address demand destruction moving forward, EPA’s fix must incorporate a projection of actual exempted gallons, not simply apply an out-of-date DOE recommendation.
“The proposal released today will do nothing to bring back the ethanol plants that have shut down or help the burden that many of our corn farmers currently face. Every day that passes without the true solution President Trump promised means more and more pain for America’s farmers and rural workers.”
Growth Energy also called on the EPA to hold a regulatory hearing on the proposal in Iowa, so more Midwest families racing to complete this year’s harvest will have an opportunity to share their views.
“The farm families hit hardest by EPA exemptions deserve a seat at the table, and that can’t happen if the EPA refuses to hold a hearing in a central location, closer to millions of voices who cannot afford to leave the farm for days at a time,” added Skor.
