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Iowa ag leaders respond to EPA’s biofuels proposal

Iowa renewable fuels advocate held a news conference Wednesday to discuss the EPA’s biofuels proposal. 

Monte Shaw with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association says White House and EPA officials are trying to reassure the ag and biofuels industry that the 15 billion gallon ethanol goal will be met. But Shaw says those assurances are not good enough.

“They’re saying, ‘don’t worry, trust us’—but they’re putting in clauses and footnotes that say, ‘but we may not actually do it, if we feel like we need to do something else’,” Shaw says.

Craig Floss with Iowa Corn says corn farmers want certainty in the RFS.

“Iowa’s corn farmers really can’t wait until 2021 to find out whether or not there’s going to be integrity withheld in the RFS,” Floss says.

Grant Kimberley with the Iowa Biodiesel Board says the EPA is sending a signal to the biofuels industry that the volumes it sets in annual rules can’t be trusted.

“A full accounting of SRE lost gallons was what the agreement was.  That was our agreement with the president,” Kimberley says. “Promise made—but that promise has been broken.”

The Iowa industry leaders were hesitant to directly blame President Trump. Floss of Iowa Corn said he is confident that President Trump “will make this right”.