A legislative proposal circulating on Capitol Hill would allow year-round sales of higher ethanol blends and authorize EPA to grant Renewable Fuel Standard exemptions to small refineries on the brink of economic collapse.
The measure, which some lawmakers want added to a House farm bill, also would allow qualifying refiners to ask EPA for an annual RFS waiver if a refinery is converting to a renewable fuel production plant.
The latest legislative text seen by Agri-Pulse says EPA can't exempt small refiners beyond the overall "volume cap" applicable for a given calendar year. For 2028, the cap for all renewable fuel is to be the energy content equal 150 million gallons of conventional biofuel, which includes ethanol. For each following year, the volume is to be determined by EPA in relation to 2028 levels and any changes to renewable fuel volumes, according to the bill text.
A person close to the biofuel industry said they believed the bill should be broadly acceptable to agriculture, oil refining, biofuels and fuel retail interests. The measure is essentially the same as the scuttled legislation in January, except for the addition of the emergency exemption clause.
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House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson has said he expects the full House to take up the farm bill by the end of this month. Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman has told Agri-Pulse that he is in favor of adding E15 to the Senate version of the legislation, if the Environment and Public Works Committee agrees to it.
The pressure on Corn Belt lawmakers to pass legislation that paves the way for higher levels of grain-based ethanol in motor gasoline, known as E15, is amped all the way up. President Donald Trump is pushing the Republican-led Congress to deliver year-round E15 legislation to his desk. There's also a slew of competitive federal and state elections in farm-heavy regions, including Iowa, the top U.S. corn and ethanol producing state.
E15 legislation was derailed in late January due to disagreement between large and small oil refiners over the RFS, the 21-year-old law that established a national mandate to mix a certain amount of biofuel into the country's conventional fuel supply each year. The process of exemptions for small refiners has been an explosive political issue for both Republican and Democratic administrations. Meanwhile, corn growers and ethanol producers are racing to expand ethanol use as the rise of electric cars threatens future demand.
About 40% of the U.S. corn crop each year is used to make ethanol.
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