All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On March 7, 2015, the 2015 Iowa Ag Summit brought together several Republican Presidential hopefuls to discuss agricultural issues, including the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), in the United States. The potential candidates present at the summit included former Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL), Governor Scott Walker (R-WI), Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), former Governor George Pataki (R-NY), former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR), former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), and former...

On February 9, 2015, a bi-partisan group of 32 Senators led by Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy regarding 2014 and future biodiesel volume requirements under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In their letter, the Senators urge EPA to get the biodiesel renewable volume requirements (RVOs) under the RFS back on schedule. To this end, the...

A bipartisan House coalition introduced the RFS Reform Act on February 4, 2015. The coalition, consisting of Representatives Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Steve Womack (R-AR), and Peter Welch (D-VT), failed to achieve passage of a similar bill in 2013. Representative Goodlatte has been vocal on his opposition to the RFS and ethanol mandate.  

On January 27, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the importation of biodiesel made from soybeans from Argentinian biofuel producers as qualifying for U.S. biofuel credits under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Argentina's Biofuels Chamber's (CARBIO) request for an "Alternative Renewable Biomass Tracking Requirement" was approved, which allows foreign manufacturers to be part of the RFS if they follow certain environmental standards. The U.S. biodiesel...

EPA announced that renewable fuels produced from sorghum biomass could qualify as cellulosic fuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). This is a result of a preliminary analysis of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions resulting from the growth and transport of biomass sorghum feedstocks that are used to make biofuels. The analysis, which was conducted in response to a petition from the National Sorghum Producers, assumes that the emissions from production of biofuels from biomass sorghum are...

On December 16, 2014, the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) released a report on "Options for Reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard." A copy of BPC's press release on the report, with links to the report and its summary, is also available online. BPC explains that the report results from three meetings of diverse stakeholders throughout 2014. It outlines an inventory of 40 potential regulatory or legislative reforms to the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). BPC in the report concludes that...

On Wednesday, December 10, 2014, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements held a hearing on "Examining EPA's Management of the Renewable Fuel Standard Program." The sole witness was Janet McCabe, Acting Administrator for Air and Radiation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A copy of Ms. McCabe's written testimony is available online. Subcommittee Members on both sides of the aisle sharply criticized EPA...

On October 21, 2014, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued EPA. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. CREW alleges that EPA failed to comply with its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents regarding external and intra-agency communications related to the Agency's formation of the 2014 federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). CREW requested the documents as part of its effort to explore the extent to which the...

Last week, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke at a biofuel industry conference and addressed concerns raised over the likelihood that the final 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule would include renewable volume obligations (RVO) for total renewable fuel at levels below those included for 2014 under the statute. Generally, total renewable RVOs are comprised of corn-starch ethanol. Secretary Vilsack projected a positive spin on this likelihood, reportedly telling...

Inside EPA reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will take at least 12 more months before a proposed ruling for the 2015 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) can be released. This pushes "issuance of a final version toward the end of the 2015 compliance year," while also violating the statutory mandate that EPA has to "issue the annual RFS targets before the compliance year begins." EPA did not meet that schedule in 2014 either, as the RFS is yet to be released...

As previously reported, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the final 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on August 22, 2014. Some sides speculate that OMB will need considerable time to review the final action, especially given the 340,000+ comments submitted to EPA in response to the proposal. Others, however, suggest that OMB will forego its allotted 90-day review period and issue the rule in late September or early October....

On August 22, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the final 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and formal publication in the Federal Register. This much anticipated review is the last step before public release. Nearly nine months behind schedule currently, it is unclear whether OMB will move quickly to release and publish the rule. Typically, OMB can take anywhere between 30 to 90 days to review a proposal,...

In an August 11, 2014, filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, cellulosic biofuel company KiOR, Inc. (KiOR) reported that without any new financial commitments, the Company only has enough funding to operate through September 2014. This announcement is significant for the biofuels industry, as EPA had relied on KiOR's projected volumes of available cellulosic biofuels to make up a significant part of the 2013 cellulosic renewable volume obligations (RVO) under the federal...

The Energy Biosciences Institute at the University of Illinois recently helped fund two research projects that provide recommendations to prevent invasive species from being planted as new crops and used for bioenergy production. The two studies are: (1) "Resolving Regulatory Uncertainty: Legislative Language for Potentially Invasive Bioenergy Feedstocks"; and (2) "Bioenergy Feedstocks at Low Risk for Invasion in the U.S.: A 'White List' Approach." The first study...

On July 31, 2014, EPA again extended the 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) annual compliance reporting and attest engagement reporting deadlines for obligated parties under the law. The Agency issued a direct final rule extending the deadlines to 30 and 90 days, respectively, after the final 2014 RFS rule is published in the Federal Register. EPA simultaneously issued a rule proposing the new deadlines on which the public may comment. The new deadlines will become effective September 29, 2014,...

Reportedly, U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton (R-MI) plans to introduce a bill to modify the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The bill is expected to be introduced soon after EPA releases its final rule setting the final 2014 RFS volume requirements for obligated parties under the law. Just this week the Administration has made public statements to suggest that the final 2014 rule will increase volume requirements from the proposed version published last fall....

On July 15, 2014, Inside EPA reported that "the White House is examining options for reversing EPA's proposed cuts to several renewable fuel standard (RFS) production targets in order to promote biofuels that create fewer greenhouse gases (GHGs) than conventional fuels, informed sources say, as part of the Obama administration's broader efforts to combat climate change." The article also quotes sources stating: "[F]igures under discussion between administration officials...

On July 2, 2014, EPA released a signed, pre-published version of its final rule for "Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Pathways II and Modifications to the RFS Program, Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Requirements, and E15 Misfueling Mitigation Requirements." Under the rule, EPA qualifies certain additional fuel pathways that the Agency has determined meet the lifecycle greenhouse gas reduction requirements for cellulosic biofuel under the RFS. The final rule also provides guidance regarding the...

On June 26, 2014, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a 38-page report on the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), "The Renewable Fuel Standard: Issues for 2014 and Beyond." The report examines potential compliance with the RFS through 2017 under three scenarios and evaluates the effects on food and fuel prices under each one. A copy of CBO's summary of the report is available online. A copy of the full report is available online. The report evaluated the impact on food...

On June 20, 2014, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit requesting that the court rehear whether Monroe Energy (Monroe), a refining subsidiary of Delta Airlines, had standing to challenge EPA's final rule setting the 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). BRAG reported on the court's recent denial of Monroe's challenge to that final rule. A copy of that report is available online. As BRAG reported, the...