Iowa politicians furious after Trump’s EPA undermines promises in new ruling

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Iowa politicians sounded off on President Trump’s EPA rule that allows for disappointing results with required amounts of ethanol production.

Gov. Kim Reynolds issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule to establish required renewable volumes under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard:

“EPA’s actions continue to disappoint and it’s understandable why they have lost credibility with the people of Iowa,” said Gov. Reynolds. “While we agree on the end goal of 15 billion gallons, this final rule allows those numbers to be too easily disregarded. And even more important, it’s already negatively impacting the lives of Iowans as biofuels plants are closing and our farmers are losing an important market. I appreciate the President’s continued engagement on this issue and I will continue to fight for renewable volumes that align with federal law, support our farmers and our state’s economy. EPA Administrator Wheeler should know we are not done holding him to the agreement we reached with President Trump in the Oval Office on September 12th.”

Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, also released statements regarding the EPA’s final 2020 renewable volume obligations rule under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“Once again, EPA is playing games and not helping President Trump with farmers. An agreement was reached on September 12 in an Oval Office meeting between several Midwest leaders, President Trump and other members of his Administration. This does not reflect what we agreed to in that meeting. Simply requiring that the three-year rolling average be based on hard data and actual waived gallons rather than Department of Energy recommendations and EPA discretion would solve this problem and ensure the renewable volume obligations are met. Administrator Wheeler has put the president in a bad situation by not following the law as intended by Congress and as the president has promised to uphold.

“No matter what EPA says about the impact of its waivers to oil companies making billions in profits, farmers and biofuels producers know and feel the negative impact of the agency’s actions. I will hold EPA’s feet to the fire to make certain they abide by the Department of Energy’s recommendations and ensure integrity in the RFS. Whether that happens is up to Administrator Wheeler and the president’s support among farmers is in his hands.

“The magic words from the Oval Office meeting were three-year rolling average based on hard data and actual waived gallons. Abiding by this would have solved all the problem’s EPA has created,” Grassley said.

“Throughout this process, I, along with Senator Grassley and Governor Reynolds have made it crystal clear that Iowa’s farmers and biofuel producers need certainty that EPA will follow the law. After shaking hands in the Oval Office this fall, EPA had an opportunity to restore the broken trust of farmers and to follow through on the president’s commitment, but it appears they’ve missed the mark…again. We were guaranteed a deal in September, and we were assured of that same deal in October, yet EPA rolled out, and has now finalized, a different proposal. It’s no wonder trust has been lost.

“While I’m hopeful we get to the 15 billion or more gallons of ethanol that we’ve been promised, I clearly understand the hesitation from Iowans to trust the word of EPA to actually follow through on that commitment. I believe President Trump wants to do right for the biofuels community – we’ve seen that with E15 year-round and most recently the biodiesel tax incentive. But Administrator Wheeler should know: this is not the end. I will continue to fight tirelessly to make sure that my fellow Iowans have a seat at the table when it comes to renewable fuels. We will keep holding EPA’s feet to the fire to ensure they truly uphold the RFS, the law, as intended and fully implement the other critical aspects of this rule,” Ernst said.

On November 4, over 60 corn, soybean, and biofuel groups wrote a letter stating that the EPA’s supplemental rule would not accurately account for small refinery exemptions and would hurt farm economies and biofuel plants in rural America. Their letter can be found here.

Iowa Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer of District 1, was more blunt in putting blame on President Trumpo for the shortfall.  “These are decisions that have come down from the top. This president has not been a friend to renewable fuels.

“I cannot overstate how disrespectful it feels to watch other leaders in our state continue to make excuses for this administration and this president, putting it all solely on the EPA when it is this president’s EPA,” she said.