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Lawmakers, industry push for statutory RVOs
[/title][fusion_text]Friday, March 25th 2016
Now that EPA officials have vowed to get the RFS back on a statutory schedule, a group of lawmakers and industry stakeholders want them to get back to proposing statutory blending levels as well. Earlier this week, Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley and Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar led a bipartisan group of 19 senators in sending a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. The letter, signed by eight Republicans and 11 Democrats, said the EPA should “reverse course and release a rule this year that follows congressional intent. EPA angered many biofuel stakeholders with the proposed and finalized levels by using a waiver to set RVOs lower than statutory figures. Janet McCabe, EPA’s acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, said at the time – and several times since – that the RVOs represented “ambitious, achievable growth.” EPA claimed infrastructure concerns prohibited setting RVOs at statutory levels, so it exercised waiver authority over the RFS, but renewable fuel advocates point out that the EISA does not contain a waiver for concerns of infrastructure, only supply. Renewable fuels stakeholders are currently challenging the November RVO release in the court system. The letter was met with applause from eight biofuel trade groups or companies: the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers Association, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Advanced Biofuels Business Council, Biotechnology Industry Organization, Archer Daniels Midland, and POET. Under the EISA, the statutory 2017 RVO would total 24 billion gallons, a jump of almost six billion gallons from the 2016 figure. The 2017 RVO is expected to be proposed at some point in late spring or early summer.
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