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Nebraska’s governor wants EPA to maintain the RFS

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts spoke at a news conference during the RFS hearing in Kansas City. (photo courtesy Nebraska Ethanol Board)

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts spoke at a news conference during the RFS hearing in Kansas City. (photo courtesy Nebraska Ethanol Board)

Among those testifying Thursday at the EPA’s Renewable Fuels Standard hearing in Kansas City was Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts.

In an interview with Brownfield, Ricketts said that the EPA, by failing to follow the RFS statute, is creating uncertainty in the biofuels industry. He said he encountered that directly during a trade mission to Europe last year.

“We talked to a Danish company that was looking at expanding in the United States and we were trying to sell them on expanding in Nebraska,” Ricketts said. “But because of the EPA changing the rules of the game—playing with the Renewable Fuels Standard—that company decided to put their expansion plans on hold.

“It certainly cost us in Nebraska the opportunity for jobs, and it certainly cost the United States jobs.”

The company Ricketts referred to is Novozymes, which was considering an expansion of its industrial enzymes plant at Blair, Nebraska. Their product helps improve the efficiency of ethanol production.

AUDIO: Brownfield’s Tom Steever talks to Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts

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