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EPA Delays Ethanol Mandate Decision

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Stephen Johnson said the agency would have to delay a pending waiver request for a 50% reduction of the national ethanol mandate.

In April, Texas Gov. Rick Perry requested a waiver from the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) asking for a reduction of the 9 billion gallon corn-based ethanol mandate to 4.5 billion gallons. The final decision on the request was supposed to be completed by July 24, but in a statement last week Johnson said it will be early August before a final determination can be made.

Shortly after Texas made the request, EPA sought comments on the waiver. Johnson said over 15,000 comments were received, with many raising "substantive issues" and including "significant economic analysis." Johnson added, "I believe it is very important to take sufficient time to review and understand these comments in order to make an informed decision."

Prior to the announcement, a group of Midwest senators criticized Johnson for meeting behind closed doors with Administrator Johnson on July 9 to discuss Texas' request to waive the mandate and that Johnson had "supposedly reached an agreement to postpone making a decision," the senators wrote to Johnson in a letter. "We stress that an agreement to postpone any decision on the waiver raises additional concerns about whether the Agency is abiding by its responsibility to adhere to the law passed by Congress and signed by President Bush," the senators added.  

Johnson assured that the process remains "fair and open and no agreements have been made with any party in regard to the substance and timing of the decision on the waiver request."

Johnson had a separate meeting with the senators July 24 regarding the matter.

EPA is required to consult with the Departments of Agriculture and Energy in considering whether to grant or deny the waiver request. Johnson said he has begun these consultations.

A statement from Gov. Perry said the RFS waiver "is an essential step toward decreasing the devastating statewide, national and international impact of skyrocketing feed and food costs." He maintained that he believes the solution to the "unintended consequence of this federal RFS mandate is simple: a one-year, 50% waiver."

Sen. Chuck Grassley, (R., Iowa), said following the delayed announcement that he is "confident that if EPA takes a close look at the facts, they'll have to deny Governor Perry's waiver request. The fact that biofuels aren't driving up the cost of food and fuel will still be the same when the Administrator makes a decision in August. Until then, our farmers and ethanol producers are caught in limbo, taking the blame for a situation created far beyond the farm gates," Grassley said.