Sioux Falls, SD – American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Senior Vice President Ron Lamberty testified today during a virtual public hearing on the Proposed Extension of Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Compliance Deadlines the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed in November.
Lamberty’s testimony pointed out that if EPA would have finalized the 2021 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) on time last November and predicted gas volumes would return to 2019 levels, the 2021 percentage would have assured refiners their renewable fuel requirements would again fall or rise as petroleum volumes remained flat or grew.
“Instead, the reason EPA has to propose delaying compliance reporting and attest engagements for 2021 and 2022 is EPA’s own failure to establish annual Renewable Volume Obligations when they are supposed to be established,” Lamberty’s testimony reads.
The testimony makes clear that even if EPA’s proposal to extend RFS compliance goes into effect, “it should in no way be viewed as implicit acceptance of EPA’s failure to do its job and establish RVOs by November 30 of each year for the following year.” Lamberty emphasized that failing to meet the statutory deadlines is not acceptable and the proposal “would be unnecessary if EPA had simply followed the law.”
Lamberty’s testimony concluded by encouraging “EPA to rule on pending SREs, issue 2021 and 2022 RVOs and get the program back on track as quickly as possible to provide the certainty needed by refiners and ethanol producers alike.”
You can read Lamberty’s testimony here.
