NCGA Opposes Further Reductions To The RFS

 

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) today urged EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to pull back on the further reductions to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contemplates in the October 4, 2017 Notice of Data Availability (NODA).

 

In the NODA, EPA requested additional comments on potential reductions in volume requirements under the RFS. While EPA proposed no direct changes to the implied 15 billion gallon volume for conventional ethanol, NCGA believes the volume reductions EPA is exploring are inconsistent with the law and with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s July 28, 2017 decision in Americans for Clean Energy v. EPA.

 

“As one of the petitioners comprising Americans for Clean Energy, NCGA is concerned with EPA’s attempt to incorrectly apply the Agency’s waiver authority in order to justify further reductions in volumes,” NCGA President Kevin Skunes wrote in comments submitted today to the Agency.  “The further volume reductions summarized in the NODA would harm Congress’ energy and economic security objectives that motivated enactment of the RFS.”

 

The RFS requires increasing amounts of renewable fuel to be introduced into the nation’s fuel supply, and these additional volume reductions result from incorrect interpretations of EPA’s waiver authorities.

 

Skunes urged the EPA to not exercise any of the waiver authorities proposed in the NODA saying, “EPA is once again at risk of erring in its interpretation of domestic supply, despite the Court’s thorough analysis of EPA’s waiver authority.”

 

Although not specifically addressed in the NODA, NCGA further recommends EPA pursue no change to the treatment of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) on biofuel exports, a proposal raised in comments on the proposed volume rule and that EPA is reportedly considering.

 

“Such a change would result in new barriers to our growing ethanol exports and trade retaliation, significantly harming an export area in which the United States leads the world,” said Skunes.

 

Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?