Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday October 25 2017, @05:42PM   Printer-friendly
from the add-your-own-butter-and-salt dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyGuest31999

In an October 19 letter to corn-belt lawmakers, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt said that he won't seek any rollback to biofuel blending rules, according to Reuters.

The agency had been considering some changes to rules set by the Obama administration that ratchet up the amount of renewable biofuel that refineries must blend into the gas and diesel they sell. According to Bloomberg, the EPA had specifically been considering "a possible reduction in biodiesel requirements" as well as "a proposal to allow exported renewable fuel to count toward domestic quotas." In early October, the EPA asked for public comment on cutting biodiesel quotas.

The Bloomberg story cited unnamed sources who said President Trump personally directed Pruitt to back off any proposals that would relax biofuel quotas after pressure from lawmakers from corn-producing states like Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois. Trump, who courted both fossil fuel interests and corn-belt states in his campaign, has had pressure from each side on this debate. Uncertainty surrounding the future of biofuel use during Trump's administration has caused volatility in biofuels markets for months, Reuters notes.

(The Bloomberg story also cites one unnamed "top EPA official" who said that Trump's directive to Pruitt didn't matter because Pruitt wasn't going to alter renewable fuel standards anyway.)

Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/10/epa-says-it-wont-cut-biofuel-quotas-after-corn-states-push-back/


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 25 2017, @06:26PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 25 2017, @06:26PM (#587484)

    Because if it was based solely upon economics, there wouldn't be any used because corn-based biofuels are too expensive. The biofuel requirement is Congressional corporate welfare benefiting the ag industry. Corn-based biofuel is not cost sustainable, but it turns out that all those midwestern red states are really good at growing corn.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +2  
       Interesting=1, Informative=1, Total=2
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   2