EPA Posts Call-in Information for Oct. 30 Hearing on SRE Proposal (and Proposal) COMMENT DEADLINE: November 29, 2019

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October 29, 2019

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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA has posted call-in information for its Oct. 30 hearing on the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking released Oct. 15 that seeks comments on how the agency should project the volume of small refinery exemptions (SREs) in future annual Renewable Fuel Standard rulemakings to set annual renewable volume obligations (RVOs).

The rulemaking has been slammed by those in the biofuels industry as a bait-and-switch. While the original SRE deal the industry was briefed on was to use a three-year rolling average of actual SRE waived volumes to predict future waived volumes, the rulemaking released by the EPA on Oct. 15 proposes to use a three-year rolling average of U.S. Department of Energy SRE recommendations, rather than actual exemptions, to project future SRE waived volumes. Unlike data on actual waived SRE volumes, DOE recommendations are not publically available and have largely been disregarded by the EPA in recent years during its process to evaluate and approve or deny SRE applications.

The EPA will hold a hearing on the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking on Oct. 30 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m. EST and end when all parties who wish to speak have had an opportunity to do so. A listen-only conference line is available for the event. The call-in information is now available on the EPA website.

A public comment period on the proposed rule is also open through Nov. 29. Comments can be filed online at www.Regulations.gov under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0136. READ MORE

Renewable Fuel Standard Program: Standards for 2020 and BiomassBased Diesel Volume for 2021, and Response to the Remand of the 2016 Standards; Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (U.S. Department of Energy/Federal Register)

MN BIOFUELS TESTIMONY ON EPA'S SUPPLEMENTAL PROPOSAL (Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association)

NEBRASKA ETHANOL BOARD CRITICIZES EPA SMALL REFINERY EXEMPTIONS (Brownfield Ag News)

MICHIGAN BIOFUEL COMPANIES SHED LIGHT ON RFS IMPACTS (Brownfield Ag News; includes AUDIO)

MISSOURI CORN, ETHANOL PLANT MANAGER TESTIFY TO EPA (Brownfield Ag News)

RFS Waiver Proposal Hammered -- Farmers, Biofuel Producers Give Earful on EPA Proposal at Michigan Hearing (DTN Progressive Farmer)

Biofuel groups call on EPA to fix SRE proposal (Biomass Magazine)

ILLINOIS FARM BUREAU: “RURAL AMERICA IS BLEEDING” FROM DECREASED BIOFUEL BLENDING (Brownfield Ag News)

IOWA FARMER TELLS EPA HOW BIOFUEL DEMAND DESTRUCTION AFFECTS HIM (Brownfield Ag News)

Big corn, big oil both blast Trump biofuel plan at EPA hearing (Reuters)

Trump’s push for ethanol not reaching pumps (Finance & Commerce)

Biofuels Groups Express Concerns at EPA Hearing (Energy.AgWired.com)

Biofuels Proponents Urge EPA to Change Supplementary Proposal (OPIS)

BIOFUEL AND FARM GROUPS SAY EPA NEEDS TO DO MORE (Brownfield Ag News)

Iowa Ag secretary to EPA: ‘A deal is a deal’ (The Messenger)

Ethanol Blog: Reflecting on the Anatomy of a Biofuels Agreement (DTN Progressive Farmer)

Trump’s Biofuels Deal Is a Nightmare for Farmers and Taxpayers (Morning Consult)

What Is Causing Ethanol Demand To Decline? (Forbes)

Iowa farmers, biofuels leaders say EPA proposal undercuts ethanol agreement (Sioux City Journal)

RFA to EPA: RFS Proposal Fails on Several Levels (Renewable Fuels Association)

TESTIMONY OF GEOFF COOPER PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RENEWABLE FUELS ASSOCIATION (Renewable Fuels Association)

Ethanol Blog: Group of House Republicans Asks Wheeler to Change Biofuels Proposal (DTN Progressive Farmer)

Big corn, big oil both blast Trump biofuel plan at EPA hearing (Reuters)

Opinion: Higher biofuel mandates would hit refining communities hardest (Detroit News)

Ethanol Report on Hearing Highlights -- Comments from participants in hearings related to EPA waivers (Energy.AgWired.com AUDIO)

More than 11,700 comments filed on EPA’s SRE proposal (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

LIKE THE CAPULETS AND THE MONTAGUES: Journalists like to say that if everybody is mad at you, you're doing a good job. (The Hill)

Oil industry will 'vigorously challenge' EPA proposal (E&E News)

Refiners, biofuel makers await delayed 2020 renewable fuel mandate (S&P Global Platts)

Stanford L. Levin: More ethanol? Two wrongs don’t make good policy (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Excerpt from Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association: First, EPA should get back to basics by complying with the law. The RFS is amply clear that by now at least 26 billion gallons of renewable biofuel should be in the transportation fuel. Interestingly, just as the EPA is gutting the RFS, some Minnesota ethanol producers are unleashing cellulosic ethanol production. Once EPA fixes the RIN pathway, there can be a significant increase in cellulosic renewable biofuel gallons.

Second, now that E15 can be sold throughout the year, EPA should move rapidly to streamline the process for making it the new regular fuel across the Nation. EPA should mirror the approach it used to move the Nation from leaded to unleaded fuel. Doing the math with 2018 EIA data, at least 20 billion gallons of renewable biofuel will be needed. With some reasonable ramp up time, the biofuel industry can meet the demand.

Third, EPA should work in tandem with the United States Dept of Agriculture to replicate the successful Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership Program. BIP can help locally owned and independently operated retail fuel stations make changes so they can offer E15 and higher blends. Given the success we have had with the first round of BIP funding in Minnesota, we have a model that can be expanded in Minnesota and replicated in other States. We welcome the opportunity to work with EPA and USDA to actualize a robust BIP. READ MORE