News

EPA hears RFS concerns in the Heartland

An EPA hearing in the Heartland has drawn hundreds of farmers and others to Kansas City, Kansas today.

Testimony is underway from those for and against the EPAs latest renewable fuel volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard, RFS.

Bob Greco with the American Petroleum Institute says Congress should repeal or reform the RFS.

Tom Buis, with ethanol group Growth Energy, has another message, about the E-10 blend wall.

He tells Brownfield Ag News, “My message to them was tear down the wall. Don’t tickle it. Don’t brush it, tear it down. I don’t know if they’re listening or if this is just a check-the-box hearing.”

Illinois Corn Growers President Ken Hartman also testified this morning, “We have lots of corn out here, we had a record crop last year and we’ve got a good crop coming on. We’re very upset because of what EPA’s done with ethanol, dropping it back to where it is after we have the production and we have the corn there to make more ethanol.”

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Missouri Governor Jay Nixon testified strongly for the  EPA to increase ethanol volume targets under the law.  The EPA proposal would cut almost 4-Billion gallons of ethanol from the RFS through 2016. That represents more than one-billion bushels in lost corn demand.

AUDIO:  Interview with Tom Buis (3:00 mp3):

AUDIO:  Interview with Ken Hartmann (2:00 mp3):