| No. 244, September 29, 2022 |
|
|
Opinion: SCOTUS, EPA & the future of biofuels |
At the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) issued an opinion in West Virginia v. EPA regarding the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act.
SCOTUS held that EPA did not have clear congressional direction under the Clean Air Act to lower overall greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector by requiring power plants to shift from one energy source (e.g. coal) to another energy source (e.g., natural gas, wine, or solar). The EPA must have such direction, SCOTUS held, because what EPA proposed to do involved a "major question" with significant impacts on the power sector and on efforts to combat climate change.
What is West Virginia v. EPA's impact on the biofuels industry and a clean energy future? In a recent opinion piece in Agri-Pulse, Growth Energy General Counsel Joe Kakesh explains the background of the case and what it means to our industry going forward.
"Fortunately, West Virginia does not directly limit EPA's authority on biofuels," writes Kakesh. "Unlike some statutes, the RFS provides clear direction from Congress when it comes to combating climate change through renewable fuels. For 17 years, the RFS stood the test of time and reshaped the entire transportation fuel sector. It explicitly directs EPA to "ensure" annual renewable volume obligations (RVOs) are blended into our nation's transportation fuels. It also empowers EPA to determine which entities are required to satisfy those obligations and establishes clear deadlines to implement these directives."
|
For more information, please contact General Counsel Joe Kakesh. |
|
|
Update: Government Spending Deadline Ahead U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture Advances Nomination of Alexis Taylor as USDA Under Secretary Growth Energy Joins Letter to Senate Leadership in Support of Doug McKalip Confirmation |
Growth Energy Statement on Updated EPA Guidance on Cellulosic Biofuel from Corn Kernel Fiber Update: Rail-Labor Negotiations Today: EPA Workshop on Biointermediates Compliance and the RFS Coming Up: Fuel Ethanol Laboratory Conference |
Reuters Pulls Anti-Ethanol Article Following Industry Pushback |
|
NACS Show October 1 - 4, 2022 Las Vegas, Nev. Fuel Ethanol Laboratory Conference October 4 - 5, 2022 Omaha, Neb. Export Exchange 2022
October 12 - 14, 2022 Minneapolis, Minn. Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers Association (SIGMA) November 8-10, 2022 Hollywood, Calif. NAFB Trade Talk
November 16-17 Kansas City, Mo. |
|
|
Update: Government Spending Deadline Ahead |
Lawmakers must pass a continuing resolution (CR) to avoid a government shutdown by tomorrow, September 30th. U.S. House and Senate leaders unveiled a short-term government funding bill on Monday to keep federal agencies open until December 16th, a date upon which appropriators hope to have an omnibus spending package for the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 finished. The 237-page funding package provides more than $12 billion in military and economic aid for Ukraine, billions in disaster aid, reauthorization of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fees, and a host of other key provisions.
When will this happen? Nobody wants a government shutdown, so this likely be worked out as soon as possible. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will schedule a vote by tonight at the earliest, but the exact timing is unclear at this point. |
U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture Votes to Advance Nomination of Alexis Taylor as USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs
|
|
|
|
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry voted to advance the nomination of Alexis Taylor, of Iowa, to be Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Ms. Taylor's nomination now awaits consideration by the full U.S. Senate. Having strong leaders at USDA who understand the economic role biofuels play is vital to our industry |
|
|
and rural America, and we have faith that Taylor will bring this knowledge to the position. We support her nomination and look forward to her confirmation and working with her directly on issues facing the biofuels industry in the future. |
Growth Energy Joins Letter to Senate Leadership in Support of Doug McKalip Confirmation |
|
|
|
Growth Energy joined over 100 food and agriculture stakeholders in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell calling on the Senate to expeditiously confirm Doug McKalip as Chief Agricultural Negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). "We write with strong concern over further delay because we are reminded daily of the need for greater attention |
|
|
and emphasis from the Administration on agricultural export market growth," wrote the coalition. "Agricultural trade deficits, once unimaginable, are now reality, underscoring the need to have in place a Senate-confirmed negotiator dedicated to pushing for new agricultural markets and removing barriers to growth in existing ones." |
For more information, please contact Vice President of Government Affairs John Fuher. |
|
|
Growth Energy Statement on Updated EPA Guidance on Cellulosic Biofuel from Corn Kernel Fiber |
Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its updated guidance on what methods should be used to determine the cellulosic converted fraction of corn kernel fiber in the production of cellulosic ethanol. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor released the following statement in response:
“We’re pleased to see EPA update its guidance for cellulosic biofuel from kernel fiber, a move that provides additional flexibility for bioethanol producers and the potential to accelerate stalled registrations for cellulosic biofuels. Approval of these registrations is important to fulfilling the goals of the Renewable Fuel Standard and to help further decarbonize the transportation sector. We look forward to further reviewing EPA’s guidance with our members.” In its guidance, EPA proposes three potential ways companies might satisfy registration requirements for corn fiber, including: - Adoption of the DOE/NREL method,
-
Demonstration of reasonable accuracy by returning comparable cellulose values to the NIST reference materials using a non-voluntary consensus standards body (non-VCSB) method, or
- Use of advanced analytical techniques; e.g. mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), as identified by DOE/NREL in their analytical method and validation.
Read the full guidance from EPA here. |
Update: Rail-Labor Negotiations |
The nation's freight railroads have reached another tentative agreement with International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). This means currently the railroads have two ratified contracts and 10 tentative agreements that are in the process of being ratified. Each union has different procedures and timelines for the membership ratification progress. At this time, it is expected that all ratification votes will be concluded by mid-November. In the event of a failed ratification, the parties have agreed to maintain the status quo for a period of time pending any further discussions and assessment of next steps. As such, a failed ratification does not present risk of an immediate service disruption. We will continue to keep you updated.
What's Congress working on? Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) has introduced the Reliable Rail Service Act in the U.S. Senate. This legislation gives the Surface Transportation Board (STB) necessary statutory clarity along with significant discretion and flexibility to account for variations unique to local rail carrier and shipper circumstances, which will provide transparency for all stakeholders while improving STB's oversight to help address our nation's freight railroad supply chain challenges and lower costs for consumers.
|
Today: EPA Workshop on Biointermediates Compliance and the RFS |
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a virtual workshop today, September 29th from 1-4PM ET on the new biointermediates provisions of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. The RFS final rule for years 2020, 2021, and 2022 contained new provisions for the use of certain biointermediates to produce qualifying renewable fuels and specified requirements that apply when renewable fuel is produced through sequential operations at more than one facility. Additionally, the new provisions cover the production, transfer, and use of biointermediates and new regulatory requirements related to registration, recordkeeping, and reporting for facilities producing or using a biointermediate for renewable fuel production.
The virtual public workshop will provide the opportunity for EPA to update stakeholders on how to register and comply with the new requirements and generate RINs. |
Coming Up: Fuel Ethanol Laboratory Conference |
The annual Fuel Ethanol Laboratory Conference begins on Tuesday, October 4th in Omaha, Nebraska. This event, with a top-tier agenda set by Growth Energy's Kristy Moore, is one and a half days of cutting edge news, leadership, and lab specific educational presentations and an exposition hall to see the latest technology. There are currently 200 professional registered for this event and registration is still open for those interested in attending. The conference will feature speakers and panelists from Growth Energy, POET, Chevron, Innospec, IFF, Distillers Grains Technology Council, ASTM International, CTE, NCERC, and more. Both days of the conference will be kicked off by the Nebraska Ethanol Board and Renewable Fuels Nebraska. We hope to see you there!
|
For more information, please contact Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley. |
|
|
Reuters Pulls Anti-Ethanol Article Following Industry Pushback |
This week, Reuters officially withdrew its September 8 story, "How U.S. ethanol plants are allowed to pollute more than oil refineries", citing the articles' "flawed interpretation of data" that led to "inaccurate estimates of carbon emissions for individual ethanol plants."
The Sept. 8 article cited the widely discredited study by Tyler Lark and others that was published in February 2022. Lark's research has debunked by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, University of Illinois, and others who found Lark’s modeling approach to be “too limited to effectively consider the drivers of ethanol industry.” They also found the Lark study to include “outdated and inaccurate projections for future crop prices”, “double counted” and incorrect emissions results, and “magnificent changes” in land use that are “overestimated”.
Early on Growth Energy learned of this story taking shape and immediately reached out to dispute the reporter's argument and outline the well-established flaws of the data assumptions being made. More importantly, we worked with our member companies represented in the Reuters piece to effectively and efficiently correct the record, which resulted a complete retraction of the story.
Going forward, we will continue to work to debunk Lark's study and promote the environmental benefits of ethanol. |
For more information, please contact Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs Elizabeth Funderburk. |
|
|
On October 1st, Growth Energy is heading to the National Association of Convenience Store Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The NACS Show is the most comprehensive representation of products and services for the convenience and fuel retail industry. We're excited to join our retail partners next week -- if you are attending the NACS Show, be sure to stop by booth #7051! |
For more information, please contact Senior Vice President of Market Development Mike Lorenz. |
|
|
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.
|
You're receiving this newsletter because you've subscribed to Growth Energy's The Weekly Rundown. Not interested anymore? Unsubscribe instantly. |
|
|
Copyright © 2022 Growth Energy. |
|
|
|
