The National Farmers Union was disappointed the Environmental Protection Agency failed to meet the deadline for 2021 renewable volume obligations.
The EPA?s inability to issues its 2021 RVOs under the Renewable Fuel Standard raised concerns that the RVOs won?t be updated until the next administration takes office. Anne Steckel with the National Farmers Union says EPA introduced yet more uncertainty to the biofuels industry.
Steckel says this latest RVO development came at the end of an already challenging year for the industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
National Farmers Union President Rob Larew also condemned EPA?s inaction and pressed the agency to rethink its approach.
?By punting a decision on 2021?s RVOS to the next administration, EPA is introducing yet more uncertainty to the biofuels industry ?? uncertainty that most farmers and biofuels producers can?t afford right now. Despite promising again and again to uphold RFS, the Trump administration has consistently undermined the program with its misappropriation of small refinery exemptions, preferential treatment of oil corporations, and disregard for its legal responsibility to restore lost demand, all of which has cost America?s farmers and biofuel producers dearly. To add insult to injury, fuel use ? and, consequently, ethanol use ? has dropped significantly during the pandemic, cutting deeply into profits.?
