As I stare at the blank white ?paper? on my laptop I almost said that the ethanol industry could not have asked for a better forty-eight-hour period. However, that would be far from the truth. It is exactly what the industry and its supporters have been asking for the last weeks, months, and years. It is a level of certainty to provide at least a semblance of a toehold in a year that has been marred by a whirlwind of question marks
SATURDAY:
It would probably be best if we went through the last few days chronologically. On Saturday, Senator Ernst received a phone call from President Trump, during an event, in which the President told her and others in attendance that he would be lifting restrictions that prevented the use of E10 pumps for E15. Senator Ernst talked to me about what this meant for the industry on Saturday.
The states still have the individual authority to decide if they want this to happen or not. Senator Ernst says that this clears the necessary hurdles at the Federal level. However, Iowa has been wanting to move forward on this already. Don?t expect to see the state wait too long on its decision to make those changes.
MONDAY:
You could call it saving the best for last, but it is also the way things shook out. On Monday, it was announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would be rejecting 54 of the so-called ?Gap-Year Waivers.? These waivers would have allowed for exemptions in biofuel blending for past years. This is news that the Ethanol industry has been waiting for.
However, the news does not come without a grain of salt. The decision only applies to the 54 previously mentioned waivers that have been decided on by the Department of Energy (DOE). This still leaves question marks surrounding the final fourteen waivers that make up the 68-total gap-year requests. There are also still 31 requests for 2020 exemptions still pending. The EPA has been less than supportive to the biofuels industry and the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) regarding the yearly waiver asks.
Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive director Monte Shaw said that this decision should mark the end of Small Refinery Exemptions.
Shaw is not concerned with the remaining fourteen waivers being analyzed by the DOE. He says if the EPA applies the same logic, it should be a non-issue. If they do not, it will be a legal nightmare.
Shaw says this issue should be considered at an end and that the Trump Administration should consider the ruling of the Tenth Circuit Court to be the ?law of the land.? There is no longer a leg for the oil companies to stand on.
The celebration was widespread throughout the Ag and biofuels sectors today. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds released the following statement:
?As Iowa farmers grapple with trade disruption, a global pandemic, and the aftermath of a devastating derecho, it?s critical that we take action to help our ag economy. Today?s decision by the Trump Administration eliminates much of the uncertainty surrounding small refinery exemptions that undercut demand for biofuels. It?s a significant step forward for Iowa?s renewable fuel industry and another example of President Trump honoring his commitment to Iowa farmers. ?
Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig added:
?From CARES Act and disaster-recovery funding to blocking the latest round of retroactive biofuel blending waivers, the Trump administration continues to support Iowa farmers and our state?s agriculture-based economy. This decision was critical to upholding the spirit of the RFS and growing demand for cleaner-burning biofuels.?
Iowa Corn Growers Association President Carl Jardon said:
?ICGA has repeatedly pushed the Administration to deny these gap-year waivers for months, and we are glad the EPA is supporting President Trump?s commitment to Iowa farmers and has taken steps to uphold the integrity of the RFS by denying the vast majority of the refinery petitions. For the RFS to be upheld entirely, the EPA should apply the Tenth Circuit Court decisions on SREs nationwide and similarly deny the remaining gap-year waivers. When it is upheld, the RFS is one of America?s most successful energy policies, requiring environmentally friendly, renewable biofuels be blended into our nation?s fuel supply. By having the gap-waivers denied and looking to deny future waivers, this helps secure the RFS for the future and allows some certainty for Iowa?s corn farmers in a year that has had little rewards.?
Iowa Senior Republican Senator Chuck Grassley released the following:
?Senator Ernst and I have long called for ending so-called hardship exemptions for big oil companies. I?m glad the EPA is listening to our feedback and common sense from farmers and biofuel producers. The rejection of these exemptions comes after a thorough review process from both the EPA and the Department of Energy. I?m proud to partner with Senator Ernst who has been a relentless advocate in calling for these exemptions to be rejected. She has demonstrated effective leadership holding the EPA accountable on renewable fuels. I applaud President Trump for keeping his word and supporting our farmers and biofuel producers. This is an important step that will allow more gas stations to provide E15 to Iowans year-round without significantly changing their infrastructure. I?m glad to work with Senator Ernst who has been a steadfast advocate for our biofuels community and called on the EPA to make this change earlier this year.?
Iowa?s Junior Senator Joni Ernst also celebrated the announcement.
?I?ve been calling for these ?gap year? waivers to be thrown out since they were announced. Now, the administration has listened to our calls for action. Today?s announcements will help provide more certainty to our biofuel producers, who have for too-long been yanked around by the EPA, and help increase access to E15, which drives up demand for corn and ethanol. The fight for Iowa?s renewable fuel industry, and our farmers, is not over. I?ll never stop being a relentless advocate for Iowa agriculture?holding EPA to their commitments and making sure the RFS is the law of the land.?
The campaign for Senator Ernst?s challenger, Theresa Greenfield, released a statement that these problems were created in the first place when an oil lobbyist was put in charge of the EPA. That the damage has already been done to rural Iowa.
?Fifty days before Election Day, this announcement does nothing to erase the massive economic damage in Iowa caused by Senator Ernst?s vote for a fossil fuel lobbyist to run the EPA, which has already issued 85 RFS waivers that benefit Ernst’s Big Oil donors. Theresa has spent nearly three months calling for EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler?s resignation over his ongoing attempts to undermine the RFS and holding Senator Ernst accountable for her disastrous vote to confirm this fossil fuel lobbyist whose reckless anti-ethanol agenda has inflicted so much pain on Iowa farmers. Ernst?s failure to fight for our farmers, while putting her Big Oil donors first, is a key part of why she?s one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the country, and Iowans aren?t falling for this desperate attempt to prop her up.?
The arguments have come from many sectors that this was an attempt to appease the rural voters ahead of the election. However, another argument was made that the ethanol industry has been fighting for this for some time and would have welcomed this news no matter when it was announced.
