The wait may soon be over for the future of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). After a long-awaited decision from the Biden Administration, Pro Farmer’s Jim Wiesemeyer reports EPA Administrator Michael Regan says the blending requirements won’t favor oil or agriculture. These comments led to more chatter a RFS announcement may finally be coming.
It’s been rumored and reported since summer, and then again in September, that the Biden Administration was planning to cut biofuel blending obligations within the RFS. But since the reports, no announcement has been made.
However, Wiesemeyer says the comments by Regan this week have fueled chatter an EPA RFS announcement could come Friday. But one industry analyst said that announcement has been anticipated every Friday since July.
According to Bloomberg, Regan said the annual blending quotas “are designed to take advantage of biofuels, so agriculture is at the table.” Those comments were reportedly made on the sidelines of the COP26 summit in Scotland, as Regan went on to say, “We’re listening to agriculture, but we’re really following the law, following the science in doing what we believe Congress intended, recognizing that there may be people unhappy with various elements” of the proposal.
As Wiesemeyer reported in late September, the White House Office of Management & Budget is reviewing a draft EPA proposal to specify how much renewable fuel, such as corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel, must be mixed into gasoline and diesel in 2021 and 2022.
“We recognize the sense of urgency, and we recognize the desire of certainty that both industries want, and we’re hoping to provide that sooner rather than later,” Regan said during gate COP26 summit.
RFS Rumors
The RFS rumors have continued to surface since summer as to what those updated numbers may be. In September, Reuters released an exclusive story citing documents that showed EPA is mulling significant cuts to biofuel blending levels. The report outlined the EPA proposal, which would reduce the mandates for 2020 and 2021 to about 17.1 billion gallons and about 18.6 billion gallons, respectively. Reuters also reported the agency would set the 2022 levels at about 20.8 billion gallons, calling it a win for the oil industry.
The Reuters story, however, was never confirmed. EPA wouldn’t comment but cautioned the numbers are subject to change, and stated the updated 2020 levels would be lower than what was finalized for 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
While the story wasn’t confirmed, sources say Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) was furious after the report, as he went on to tell AgriTalk that same week. It’s Grassley’s stark comments, as well as direct conversations with the White House, they may have put a pause on EPA’s original plan.
“When Biden was campaigning in Iowa, he supported ethanol,” Grassley said on AgriTalk in September. “I’ve had good conversations with the EPA director on it. And I thought they were favorable to it. I don’t know the rationale behind it, but it could have something to do with their promoting of electric vehicles. It surely can’t have anything to do with their caving in to big oil, because they don’t like fossil fuels at all.”
Those sentiments are also echoed by biofuel groups. After President Biden took office, Groups such as the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and National Corn Growers Association were hopeful the new administration would restore integrity of the RFS. Instead, those groups have voiced disappointment as the Biden administration has yet to release volume obligations under the RFS.
