Independent oil refiners say the latest congressional push to get more U.S. corn ethanol into fuel tanks is dead on arrival.
Two legislative proposals that Corn Belt lawmakers want attached to a farm bill fall short, says the Fueling American Jobs Coalition, a trade group made up of refiners and union workers.
The coalition doesn't like a proposed farm bill amendment to allow year-round U.S. sales of higher ethanol blends, known as E15, and a measure to “eliminate” small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard.
E15 came close to House passage in January but was scrapped at the last minute after small and mid-sized refiners balked at a provision to shrink the number of refineries eligible for exemption from national biofuel-blending rules. A task force made up of House Republicans from both farm and oil states was formed to come up with an E15 framework that works for the agriculture, biofuel and fossil fuel sectors.
"Ongoing efforts to force unchecked E-15 expansion, without needed reforms to lower and prevent continuous increases in ethanol mandates, through yet another must-pass piece of legislation fly in the face of the Rural Domestic Energy Council and lawmakers’ promises to pursue a responsible path forward,” the coalition said in a statement on Wednesday.
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A new year-round E15 proposal would authorize EPA to grant RFS exemptions to small refineries on the brink of economic collapse or if a refiner is converting to renewable fuel production.
The coalition contends that the ethanol industry wants year-round E15 “to push already unachievable ethanol mandates higher, adding to what is already a 29 cent per gallon hidden gas tax on American consumers that also puts American fuel supplies and energy jobs at risk.”
Meanwhile, with corn farmers in need of more buyers and biofuel producers looking to boost demand, the agriculture industry’s effort to enshrine year-round E15 into law is intensifying. The attempt to get E15 attached to a broader farm bill passed by both chambers of Congress is an uphill climb. If it passes the House, it still needs sign off from the Senate Environment Committee, which has jurisdiction over the issue.
House Ag Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson says he expects a farm bill approved by his committee last month to go to the House floor for a vote by the end of this month. He also told Agri-Pulse he’s not currently worried about an E15 push hurting support for the legislation.
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