U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today issued the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
"The EPA's final RFS rule is an improvement from the original proposal in July, supporting strong ethanol production, but I'm disappointed that biodiesel targets were not raised," Heitkamp said. "The failure to raise biodiesel targets is discouraging to private investment in the industry and to jobs in rural America. The EPA should make sure the RFS remains a forward looking program that encourages growth and drives new investment in the industry while supporting good jobs."
The EPA had proposed holding the biomass-based diesel volume stagnant for 2019 and reducing the advanced biofuel volume for 2018, leaving potential growth in the industry on the table and threatening near-term job losses in rural America. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had previously pledged to support the Renewable Fuel Standard, and Heitkamp reinforced the need to protect it in a meeting with Pruitt prior to his confirmation.
According to a study conducted last year by LMC International and released by the National Biodiesel Board, the 2.1 billion gallons of biodiesel and renewable diesel used by Americans in 2015 supported 47,400 jobs and $1.9 billion in wages, and had an $8.4 billion economic impact.
In North Dakota, about 50 percent of corn is turned into ethanol, according to the North Dakota Corn Growers Association, reinforcing how important it is that we maintain a robust biofuels market through the Renewable Fuel Standard.
A member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Heitkamp has been a vocal advocate for biodiesel and ethanol -- industries that support over 400,000 American jobs, including many in North Dakota. Heitkamp has fought for the EPA to provide certainty to farmers and biofuels workers, and has continually pressed the agency to issue a strong Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule.
Last year, EPA released final 2017 renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for ethanol and advanced biofuels, and 2018 RVOs for biodiesel under the RFS. As Heitkamp had long pushed for, the corn ethanol blend levels met the statutory requirements for the first time in years. The EPA is required by law to set fuel blending levels annually so biodiesel and ethanol producers can plan for the future, but the agency failed to do so for years, creating uncertainty for farmers as well as advanced biofuels research and development.
After the EPA released its proposed RVOs in May 2016, Heitkamp called on the Administration to set more ambitious targets, as the law requires. She followed up on this in a call with Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shaun Donovan. Heitkamp also helped lead 40 senators in urging the Administration to increase biodiesel RVOs to encourage continued industry growth and diversity in the nation's energy supply.
Heitkamp led the charge in the Senate to successfully push the EPA to set timely RVOs in 2015 for the first time in years. When the RVOs released in May 2015 were lower than levels needed to comply with law and promote the ethanol and biofuels industries, Heitkamp led a bipartisan group of 36 senators in calling on the EPA to increase the RVOs, and joined a bipartisan group of more than 40 senators to put pressure on the EPA for strong corn ethanol blend levels in June 2016.