Iowa Delegation Requests RFS Hearings

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad (R), Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, and State Secretary of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Bill Northey led an effort to send a letter to EPA requesting it to convene a field hearing in Iowa on the Agency's proposed 2014 RFS rule. The letter was signed by the entire Congressional delegation from Iowa. A copy of the letter is available online.

EPA's proposed 2014 RFS rule would reduce the 2014 statutory gallon requirements for cellulosic biofuels, advanced biofuels, and corn ethanol. Governor Branstad testified at EPA's recent hearing in Arlington, Virginia, on the proposed rule that it would have detrimental effects on the biofuels industry and rural economy in his state and other Midwestern states. The Iowa delegation expresses in the letter the same concern, and argues that EPA should hold a field hearing in Iowa to hear from Midwestern farmers and producers who could not attend the Virginia hearing and who would be disproportionally impacted by the proposed reductions.