On July 2nd, the D.C. Circuit Court struck down the May 2019 EPA rule which allowed for year-round E15 sales. The courts said that the EPA did not have the authority to grant the Reid Vapor Pressure waiver necessary to allow the sales. However, it did leave the door open for Congress to work around it. The Biofuels Caucuses in both chambers were busy yesterday introducing that workaround.
In the House, the ?Year-Round Fuel Choice Act? was introduced. It was introduced by MN Representative Angie Craig and has the support of the full Iowa delegation. Congresswoman Cindy Axne (D-IA 3rd) is a co-chair of the caucus and says this legislation will give EPA that authority that the court says they lacked.
Axne adds that ethanol is obviously been around for decades, but that so has the policy governing it. She adds that it is time to have the legislation updated and close the gaps and loopholes that big oil has been trying to wiggle through. She adds that the court?s ruling just said that EPA didn?t have proper authority. There was nothing in the decision that said that the E15 product was falling short. Therefore, by Congress granting the EPA that power, they will fulfill the shortcomings pointed out by the ruling.
Axne?s support of this bill is just the latest in efforts she has made to help the biofuels industry. She highlights her Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Investment and Market Expansion Act, and the bicameral initiative she joined with Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar to get ethanol tax incentives through the Low Carbon Biofuel Credit Act.
On the Senate side, Senator Chuck Grassley joined Senators. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Amy Klobuchar, and a group of colleagues in reintroducing the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act.
Axne?s office said in a release that, ?Axne has repeatedly advocated for the inclusion of biofuels in any infrastructure package that Congress works on, expressing the importance of the industry to rural America and family farmers as well as the significant carbon reduction benefits.?
