Iowa Governor: Trump, Pruitt Reiterate Support for RFS
Source: By Todd Neeley, DTN/Progressive Farmer • Posted: Thursday, October 19, 2017
Iowa’s governor talked to both President Donald Trump and the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday regarding concerns about the Renewable Fuel Standard. (DTN file photo by Todd Neeley)
OMAHA (DTN) — With concerns about the Renewable Fuels Standard bubbling over, the president of the United States and the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached out to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday morning to reassure her the RFS is safe.
President Donald Trump reiterated his support for the RFS during a rally in Iowa last summer. He did so again on the phone with Reynolds on Wednesday morning, the governor told reporters during a news conference in Pella, Iowa, on Wednesday afternoon.
“I take him at his word,” Reynolds said. “But again, we’re going to continue to push for the answer we’re looking for. Because this is so important, we are not going to stop. When I talked to the president, he reiterated his commitment to the Renewable Fuel Standard. He made it clear he stood with the Renewable Fuel Standard.”
Reynolds said she also spoke to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt by phone on Wednesday, garnering similar support from him on the RFS.
“I certainly felt like I had the opportunity to make my case,” she said. “He (Pruitt) reached out to me. They are feeling the pressure.”
The EPA announced in a notice a proposal to further reduce the renewable volume blend requirements for advanced biofuels, biomass-based diesel volumes for 2018 and 2019, and the total renewable fuel volumes in the RFS.
EPA also is reportedly considering a proposal from Valero Energy to leave renewable identification numbers, or RINs, attached to U.S. ethanol gallons produced in the U.S. and exported. Currently, the credits are removed from exported gallons. The biofuels industry is concerned that doing so would flood the market with RINs and harm domestic biofuel producers.
Reynolds said she made it clear to Trump and Pruitt that the RFS is important in rural America at a time when agriculture commodity prices are depressed and jobs are on the line.
“This market access is crucial right now,” she said. “The stated purpose of the Renewable Fuel Standard is to drive innovation. I appreciate the accessibility of the EPA.”
MEETING IN WASHINGTON
Reynolds said she will travel to Washington, D.C., next week to meet with Vice President Mike Pence and Pruitt to continue to make the case for increasing biofuel volumes in the RFS.