Editorial: Stability is key for the biofuel industry

Source: By Editorial Board, Omaha World Herald • Posted: Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Nebraska and Iowa elected officials have done well in securing commitments from Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt to set mandates that support the American biofuels industry.

All four U.S. senators met with Pruitt last month about his agency’s approach to the Renewable Fuel Standard. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds traveled to Washington to speak with Pruitt and President Donald Trump about the issue. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts lobbied the Trump administration, too.

 Pruitt sent a letter to Sen. Joni Ernst, who sits on the Public Works Committee, stating the EPA’s commitment to adopt fuel volumes for the mandates by the end of November that are at or above levels proposed this year.

That’s good news for Nebraska and Iowa. Iowa is the nation’s top ethanol producer and Nebraska is second. Both states enjoy an economic impact of more than $5 billion a year from biofuels and related industries, including many high-paying rural jobs.

Maintaining or strengthening the Renewable Fuel Standard gives needed stability to the biofuels market, which many workers and communities rely on in states such as Nebraska and Iowa. These elected leaders did the right thing by holding the president to his word.

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