by Chris Clayton, DTN Ag Policy Editor
WICHITA, Kan. (DTN) — Sounding apologetic about the delayed release of Renewable Fuel Standard volumes, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told farmers Monday that the rule is on track to come out this spring, though she offered no specific date.
McCarthy spoke to members of the National Farmers Union at the group's annual meeting.
McCarthy repeated that the RFS volume levels for 2014, 2015 and 2016 would come out this spring, but added she could not be more specific right now. “Hopefully we'll be able to send some clearer signals soon,” she said.
“The truth is the RFS is a complicated program and we were not able to accomplish what we needed to do last year,” McCarthy said. “I know this created a lot of confusion, uncertainty and anxiety. And I know plenty of folks got frustrated.”
Roger Johnson, NFU president, was disappointed McCarthy couldn't announce the date the RFS rule would be ready. “She is worried about being sued no matter what she does, so I think they have been trying to figure out how to avoid a lawsuit,” Johnson said. “I advised her that they ought to just stay as close to the statute as possible and announce it. But I don't know what they are going to do. I didn't hear anything in her comments that made me feel like an announcement was imminent.”
EPA opened a door to a battle among farmers, oil groups, refiners and other stakeholders when the agency decided in 2013 to lower the volume requirements for blenders of corn-based ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, advanced biofuels and biodiesel in 2014. The decision sparked a fight among the industries and within the agency that lasted the entire year. EPA then announced it would release a rule setting volume levels for 2014, 2015 and 2016 at the same time.
Implementing the RFS as Congress intended has turned out to be challenging. The rulemaking process “doesn't send the kind of long-term signals I know we would all like to achieve with this market that we would all like to see,” McCarthy said. She added there are a lot of variables that go into the RFS rule.
“It's a lot of work to put this together in a way that ensures we're doing it the way the law intended, but also not over-expecting or under-expecting what those numbers might be,” she said. “It's hard to do on an annual basis.”
McCarthy said EPA will finalize the rules for 2014 and 2015 “and start the ball rolling on 2016 as soon as we possibly can.”
McCarthy said biofuels remain an important part of the president's energy strategy by reducing the carbon footprint of biofuels, reducing imports of foreign oil and spurring innovation. “EPA is absolutely committed to catching up and getting that program back on track,” she said.
McCarthy added, “We need to look at volumes that send a longer-term signal. We also know that biofuels are a real sparkplug for the rural economy.”
McCarthy acknowledged the increased rush to the federal courts is one of the agency's biggest challenges. That has been one of the factors slowing the RFS rule, she said. “Every decision we make now seems to be legally challenged,” she said.
McCarthy told farmers the biggest area that has been hurt by the uncertainty in the RFS is the investment signal for developing projects and facilities. “So that's what we're trying really hard to be able to resolve, which is why it's taking a little longer than people wanted,” she said. “But I don't think a partial solution is what I want to put on the table, given where we are today.”
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