WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2014 – House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and other lawmakers met today with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to express disappointment with the agency’s proposal to lower the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).
The EPA issued a proposed rule in November to lower the RFS requirement for 2014 below the congressional mandate to 15.21 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel for blending into gasoline. Congress initially called for an 18.15 gallon mandate.
Peterson said he hopes the EPA’s final rule will take the “concerns of our constituents into account.”
“The rural economy has been one of the few bright spots in recent years, due in large part to the RFS,” Peterson said. “Reducing the RFS would not only have a negative impact on jobs and the rural economy, it would also halt advances in the next generation of renewable fuels.”
Peterson said he will continue to press for a strong RFS as EPA moves ahead with the rulemaking process.
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