News

EPA weighs testimony on ethanol volume

The Environmental Protection Agency is weighing Thursday’s testimony before determining final renewable fuel volume requirements.

DSCN3808The bulk of testimony at the EPA hearing in Kansas City urged the agency to adopt volume requirements set by Congress.  The EPA’s proposed ethanol volume for 2017 is 200 million gallons less than that called for by the statute.  Missouri farmer Dale Samp testified that the original volumes can be produced.

“We have the capacity, we have the corn,” Samp told Brownfield Ag News following his testimony to EPA officials.  “I’m a corn farmer.  What’s good for the ethanol business reflects back on my business.”

In addition to farming, Samp is also a board member for a POET ethanol plant in Missouri.

The thought, however, that ethanol volumes should be increased is not universal.

DSCN3793“The volumes that EPA is charged with implementing are unattainable,” said Patrick Kelly with the American Petroleum Institute, in an interview with Brownfield Ag News.  “The EPA has done the right thing” in paring back the volume of ethanol mandated to be blended with gasoline.  Kelly says the agency should go farther.  “They really need to cap the amount of ethanol in the gasoline pool at about 9.7 percent,” he said.

The testimony of the more than 140 witnesses is now in the hands of the EPA to consider before establishing a final volume requirement for renewable fuels.

DSCN3797“We take all of this into consideration,” said the EPA’s Ben Hengst, in an interview with Brownfield, however Hengst was not prepared to turn the agency’s hand about what that decision will be.

“I can’t say exactly what’s going to happen,” said Hengst, referring to what the final determination will be.  “I would say that our history has been that the numbers can change, so we’ll pay attention to the data and see what it says.”

AUDIO: Dale Samp (3 min. MP3)

AUDIO: Patrick Kelly (2 min. MP3)

AUDIO: Ben Hengst (5 min. MP3)

 

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!