MILLER-MEEKS: IT’S TIME FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP TO CLEAN HOUSE AT THE EPA TO ENSURE ETHANOL MANDATE IS MET
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2019
CONTACT: CHRISTINA STROBACK (319) 936-9300
OTTUMWA – Noting that the Environmental Protection Agency is dragging its feet instead of enforcing the mandate requiring oil refineries to blend 15 billion gallons of ethanol into the nation’s gasoline supplies each year, congressional candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks said today that President Trump should “clean house now and find someone who will honor his commitment to rural America.”
Since Trump took office, the agency has granted dozens of waivers to oil refineries, allowing them to ignore the Renewal Fuels Standard. Biofuels producers and farmers were told by the White House and EPA on Oct. 4 that the agency would account for small refinery exemptions (SRE) using a three-year rolling average of actual refinery exemptions granted. But, the EPA reneged on that promise 11 days later by issuing a proposal that it would instead calculate future blending requirements using U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recommendations that have no legal weight and have routinely been ignored.
On Wednesday, the agency held a public hearing in Ypsilanti, Mich., to gather input on its latest proposal.
“We didn’t need yesterday’s hearing and we don’t need any future hearings. It’s a stall tactic. The EPA should follow the mandate that’s been in place and has been working – nothing more, nothing less,” said Miller-Meeks, a Republican state senator from Ottumwa. “What we really need is an EPA administrator who will do the right thing and enforce the Renewal Fuels Standard on the books. It’s clear to me that Andrew Wheeler is either unable or unwilling to do that, so it’s time for President Trump to clean house now and find someone who will honor his commitment to rural America.”
Miller-Meeks said the EPA’s “capricious and inexcusable” action has already forced ethanol facilities in Crawfordsville and other communities to stop or cut back production and lay off workers.
“Farmers, consumers and producers want marketplace stability and predictability,” she said. “I hope President Trump will take the necessary steps to make that happen quickly.”
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