SHUTDOWN UPDATE

The government shutdown is now in its third week, causing many agencies to halt or postpone ongoing programs. However, despite the shutdown, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated this week it remains committed to enacting the rule allowing E15 year-round by June 1.

In addition to our direct engagement with EPA, Growth Energy continues to stress the importance of achieving a finalized rule on year-round sales of E15 in our public communications.

Reuter's national energy reporter Jarrett Renshaw tweeted Growth Energy’s statement on EPA's commitment to E15.

While current reports indicate that the shutdown may continue for some time, Growth Energy continues to be actively engaged with EPA to ensure not only a timely E15 rulemaking process, but also to ensure fair treatment under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Check out our 'In the Law' and 'In Communications' sections below for more information on how we are doing so.

For more details, contact Vice President of Government Affairs, John Fuher.

IN THE LAW

Growth Energy, along with industry allies, filed suit in August 2018 against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) for their continued delay in responding to several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding EPA’s recent unprecedented expansion of small refinery exemptions. These exemptions are to be granted only in cases of “disproportionate economic hardship,” but EPA has to date refused to publicize its explanation for why the exemptions were being granted so freely in 2016 and 2017.

Our FOIA lawsuit asks the court to enforce the EPA and DOE’s legal obligation to transparency and show the public their work so that we may understand how EPA determines who qualifies for a small refinery exemption and how EPA justifies the skyrocketing number of exemptions granted in recent years.

Unfortunately, the recent government shutdown has the potential to significantly exacerbate ongoing delays to a court decision. Because staff at EPA, DOE, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are affected by the shutdown - and as a result cannot work towards meeting court-imposed deadlines for moving the case forward - the court granted the government’s request to “stay” or pause our FOIA case for the time being. This means that deadlines that the court had imposed by the time of the shutdown will be extended by an amount of time equal to the length of the shutdown. The court also required the government to provide a status report to the court within 7 days after Congress has appropriated funds.  We will keep you posted on any updates on this litigation.

This article will be the first part in a legal review series meant to educate our members on the status of industry legal issues. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks on how we are fighting for biofuels in our nation’s courts and administrative agencies.

For more details, contact General Counsel, Joe Kakesh.

AT THE PUMP

For more details, contact Vice President of Market Development, Mike O'Brien.

IN POLICY

Under the new Democratic majority, the U.S. House of Representatives is set to re-launch the Select Committee on Climate Crisis to address climate change issues. House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA-12) has announced she will name long-time member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL-14), as chair.

Previously established in 2007, the select committee was formerly known as the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and was dissolved in 2011 when Republicans gained control of the House.

This select committee will be different from other House committees in that it will have nine Democratic members and six Republican members who will be appointed by party leaders. Additionally, the select committee will not have the authority to draft legislation or subpoena, rather the committee can refer items to other committees.

We will continue to keep you updated on the select committee’s action and our engagement in the 116th Congress.

For more details, contact Vice President of Government Affairs, John Fuher.

IN REGULATIONS

Growth Energy’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley participated in a webinar with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) on January 9 on their upcoming Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) rulemaking. ECCC outlined some of the issues in their recent Regulatory Design Paper, as well as some of their planned steps moving forward. The Regulatory Design Paper was a direct result of a 2016 ECCC announcement that it would be pursuing a national Clean Fuel Standard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 megatons by 2030. ECCC is, therefore, pursuing regulation on the liquid, gaseous, and solid fuel streams accordingly, with initial focus on liquid fuels.

On December 20th, ECCC released their Regulatory Design Paper for the Clean Fuel Standard and outlined initial plans for rulemaking. For liquid fuels, they intend to issue a proposal in the spring/summer of 2019 with hopes to have the regulations finalized in 2020 and in force by 2022. On measuring liquid fuels, a baseline will be calculated using 2016 data and all fuels will be measured using a Lifecycle Modelling Tool (available at no cost) compared to the baseline. Additionally, indirect land use change will not be accounted for in the lifecycle analysis. Importantly, the Clean Fuel Standard will not phase out Canada’s existing renewable fuel requirements but, instead, work in conjunction with those requirements in the short term.

ECCC is accepting comments on its Regulatory Design Paper until February 1 and will continue to engage stakeholders through their process. We will continue to stay actively engaged on the ECCC Clean Fuel Standard rulemaking.

For more details, contact Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Chris Bliley.

IN COMMUNICATIONS

Skor Pens Op-Ed on Expanding Ethanol Market Opportunities in 2019

For more details, contact Senior Vice President of Communications, Elizabeth Funderburk.

IN OUR ASSOCIATION

Growth Energy Mourns Passing of North Dakota Corn's Dale Ihry

For more details, contact Vice President of Membership, Kelly Manning.

The Weekly Rundown is the weekly newsletter for Growth Energy's members. It is published 51 times a year by the communications staff at Growth Energy. For more information, email team@growthenergy.org or visit our website GrowthEnergy.org. 

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