DES MOINES, Iowa (June 1, 2023) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and ten other elected Commissioners of Agriculture from around the country recently raised concerns with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the biomass-based diesel volumes in the proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rulemaking for 2023 through 2025.
The coalition, led by Secretary Naig, also includes the elected commissioners from Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia. They highlighted their concerns in a joint letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
“Since its inception, the RFS has uplifted the agriculture economy and rural communities across the U.S. and has stimulated critical growth in biofuel markets, diversifying our available supply of critical liquid transportation fuels that drive our nation’s economic success,” wrote the coalition of elected agriculture officials. “However, EPA’s proposed rule fails to consider the key investments that our farmers and biofuel producers have made in recent years and ignores the historic level of biofuel and feedstock processing capacity expansion that is planned and underway, thereby restricting the opportunity for clean, homegrown biofuels to meet our nation’s energy independence and carbon reduction goals.”
A summary of concerns raised by the coalition of elected officials included the following:
While the U.S. is expecting to see more than five billion gallons of renewable diesel come online by 2025, EPA’s proposed biomass-based diesel (BBD) volumes are significantly lower than current production and usage levels of biodiesel and renewable diesel. If this rule is finalized, it will hurt future advancements in feedstock and biofuel production as well as reduce supply in the diesel market.
Source: iowaagriculture.gov
Photo Credit: GettyImages-bunyarit
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