WASHINGTON -- Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and 17 other senators urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set high blending targets under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2017.
In a letter to EPA administrator Gina McCarthy, the senators said the EPA’s last target was lower than it should have been because the agency relied on concerns about "distribution infrastructure," which Congress explicitly rejected as a reason to justify lower blending targets.
“A strong RFS makes our country more energy secure, increases competition and consumer choice in our transportation sector and ultimately strengthens our economy,” the senators wrote. “We need a strong RFS, and we need more biofuels. We expect that you will get the program back on track, and we look forward to seeing a proposed rule released on time that removes the distribution waiver.”
The senators’ letter noted that the EPA’s last rule setting blending targets did not get the program back on track and failed to provide the necessary incentive to drive growth in the development of renewable fuels, particularly cellulosic ethanol.
“Since the proposal was first leaked in the fall of 2013, not a single new cellulosic project has broken ground in the United States and many planned or previously announced projects have been halted. In the meantime, new investments in cellulosic projects continue to emerge in China, Europe and Brazil. The final rule for 2014, 2015 and 2016 did not change this trend,” the senators wrote.
Joining Grassley and Klobuchar in signing the letter were Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Richard "Dick" Durbin (D-Ill.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Michael Rounds (R-S.D.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.).
In response, the Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) said it "applauded EPA for reducing the corn ethanol mandate for 2016 after the agency acknowledged that existing [underground storage tank] infrastructure is not certified to handle ethanol blends above 10%. PMAA continues to oppose volumetric ethanol blending mandates for gasoline that would require the introduction of E15 until all practical and legal UST compatibility issues are settled for petroleum marketers."
PMAA marketers will urge members of Congress to press EPA not to exceed 9.7% ethanol in the gasoline supply for 2017 and to recognize the "real-world lack of demand" for E85. PMAA and marketers will also continue to educate policy makers/EPA to allow marketers to continue to sell "E0."
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