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MN Congressional reaction to EPA RFS final rule

The EPA’s RFS rule for 2020 is drawing the ire of Minnesota Congressional leaders.

Representative Collin Peterson, who chairs the House Ag Committee, says the Trump Administration has repeatedly directed the EPA to support the ethanol industry and corn farmers.  But with the agency’s 2020 RFS rule, the Democrat accuses EPA of letting those groups down.

U.S. Senator Tina Smith, a Democrat and member of the Senate Ag Committee, calls the final blending quotas a frustrating bait-and-switch by the President.  She says his pro-oil and gas agenda stands out starkly in a week when Congress was able to pass a long-overdue extension of the Biodiesel Tax Credit.

Fellow Senator Amy Klobuchar, who’s seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, says the Administration’s failure to uphold the RFS has already led to the closure or idling of more than 35 ethanol and biodiesel plants nationwide.  She is calling on the EPA to take corrective action to properly account for small refinery exemptions.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz also weighed in on EPA’s 2020 RFS rule.  Walz, who co-chairs the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition, criticized EPA for asking farmers to trust them despite the fact they’ve done all they can to weaken the RFS since taking office.