EPA Delays Decision on Renewable Fuels

Light & Medium Truck, Sep 2008 by McNally, Sean

The Environmental Protection Agency postponed until early August, after this issue went to press, deciding whether to grant a request from Texas to cut the national renewable fuels mandate in half, an issue that has pitted livestock growers against grain producers.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) had requested that the mandate for renewable fuels production be cut in half because demand for grain to produce ethanol was boosting feed prices for livestock producers.

The EPA said it had received 15,000 comments on Perry's request and that it needed additional time to respond.

The original deadline for ruling on Texas' request was July 24.

Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, part of energy legislation passed in December, EPA ordered 9 billion gallons of ethanol to be blended into U.S. gasoline supplies between Sept. 1,2008 and Aug. 31,2009. Perry asked EPA to cut that to 4.5 billion gallons.

Governors of states that produce corn and ethanol, and representatives of those industries, urged EPA to deny Texas' request.

Representatives of the ethanol industry said that without the standard's mandate, the market for renewable energy will be destroyed.

Livestock producers and ranchers argued that the ethanol mandate is pushing corn prices higher.

- Sean McNally