TOP STORY

 As you all know, the plunge in biofuel demand sparked by COVID-19 is unlike anything our industry and community have previously experienced. Between fuel demand dropping, government uncertainty, and an economic downturn driven by the coronavirus – farmers and biofuel producers have been stretched beyond the breaking point. 

This week, four more plants temporarily idled, joining the dozens of other plants across 12 states that have idled or closed in recent weeks. Nearly half the biofuel industry may be offline within weeks, so the time to help our industry weather the COVID-19 crisis is now.

We've been in constant communication with members of the press, agency officials, and our congressional champions to keep them informed of the dire situation of our industry, but we need your help.

Join us by calling on lawmakers in Congress to STAND UP FOR BIOFUELS and ensure that rural America is positioned to reinvest and rebuild in the months to come.

At Growth Energy, we appreciate your steadfast support during this difficult time. Thank you for being a biofuel advocate.

For questions or more information, please contact Vice President of Communications Elizabeth Funderburk.

IN OPERATIONS

We continue to update our COVID-19 Resources page with the latest resources and information on the evolving coronavirus situation. We also encourage you to contact us as questions arise.

If you have questions, please contact Vice President of Operations Kitty Loyd.

IN LEGAL

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected requests by refiners for a rehearing before the court. The court's January decision held that EPA inappropriately granted refiners exemptions because such exemptions were not to existing exemptions already granted. Second, the court found that EPA erroneously granted the SREs on the basis of economic conditions that were unrelated to RFS compliance. The refiners now have 90 days to decide whether to seek cert at the U.S. Supreme Court.

After the announcement, Growth Energy tweeted a reaction from Emily Skor, stating that, “Biofuel plants are shuttering, & farmers are running out of options. @EPA is out of excuses. Now more than ever, the agency must enforce our biofuel targets and deliver certainty.”

For more information, please contact Growth Energy General Counsel Joe Kakesh.

IN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

Senate Sends Letter to USDA Asking for Emergency Assistance

On Monday, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) led a bipartisan letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue asking him to provide emergency assistance to biofuel producers through the funds available to the Commodity Credit Corporation. This request echoes the letter Growth Energy and other industry groups sent last week asking for assistance. 

We applaud our Senate champions for their ongoing efforts to protect rural communities, and urge the USDA to act quickly to implement this call from lawmakers to safeguard farm and biofuel jobs.

A similar letter from the House is expected to be sent to USDA on Friday.

Meat Packers Short on Carbon Dioxide

As ethanol plants shut down or significantly cut production, meat packers are having major problems sourcing enough carbon dioxide (CO2) that is used to preserve meat. The forty-five ethanol plants that sell CO2 are top suppliers to the food industry and account for one-third of the market. Twenty-nine of these plants have already idled or slowed production, causing a CO2 shock in the meat packing world at a time when Americans are purchasing more packaged goods.

For more details or if you have questions, contact Vice President of Governmental Affairs John Fuher.

IN REGULATIONS

Important Agency Updates

EPA hosting webinar TODAY on 2020 Chemical Data Reporting Requirements

The following has been provided by EPA:

On Thursday, April 9, 2020, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, EPA will host a webinar to provide an overview of the 2020 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) requirements. The 2020 CDR submission period is from June 1, 2020, to November 30, 2020. Please note that this presentation is identical to the webinar EPA hosted on Tuesday, March 31.

The webinar will include information about the revised reporting requirements, including:

• new requirements for making confidentiality claims (CBI)
• reporting refinements related to byproducts, including exemptions
• phasing out certain processing and use data codes
• improved process for reporting co-manufacturing

The webinar will also introduce the updated e-CDRweb reporting tool.

Upon registration, we will provide a PDF of the slides and a call-in number. Participants will listen in to follow along with the presentation of the slides.

Details on how to access the webinar will be sent to participants after registering via Eventbrite.com. Please ensure that emails from Eventbrite.com will not be blocked by your spam filter.

EPA will provide additional webinars ahead of and during the CDR reporting period, and recordings of recent webinars for anyone who cannot attend. For more information about CDR and webinar dates, visit https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-reporting or email ecdrweb@epa.gov.

EPA will use your registration information solely for this event. We will not share your information with any third party.

If you require special accommodations, please contact ecdrweb@epa.gov to make arrangements.

EPA Plans New TSCA Fees Rulemaking for Ethanol Producers

Stakeholder concerns surrounding the implementation challenges of EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Fees Rule is causing the agency to rethink its approach. Initially, EPA was going to impose a fee on ethanol plants that produce formaldehyde as an impurity or byproduct in the ethanol-making process. EPA is now considering issuing changes later this year that may exempt fees on chemicals that are impurities or byproducts.

Visit EPA’s Frequently Asked Questions page for further clarification.

For more details or if you have questions, contact Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley.

IN OUR ASSOCIATION

In an effort to keep you up to date on COVID-19 activity, we will continue our weekly all-member calls. Next week's call will be held on Wednesday, April 15th, at 11 AM CT/12 PM ET with Growth Energy's senior leadership team who will provide timely updates on COVID-19 and its impact on the industry.

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

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

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