WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defended its Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) this week at the annual meeting of the North American Agricultural Journalists, Agri-Pulse reports. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy addressed the agency’s proposed changes to the RFS, saying that the final regulations would look different than the proposed one.

Currently, the proposal would slash total biofuel blending from 18.15 billion gallons (required for this year under the 2007 law that enacted RFS) to 15.21 billion gallons. The proposal also would lower the corn ethanol mandate from 14.4 billion gallons to just more than 13 billion gallons — under the 13.8 billion mandated for 2013. 

The agency has been looking over more than 200,000 comments on the RFS changes, with the EPA estimating a final rule would be released later this spring or early summer. With the RFS dictating that volumes of biofuel blends and ethanol go up annually, “EPA has to make sure it is implementable,” said McCarthy. “And that means taking into realities of the fuel market. One of those realities is the fuel blend wall.”

Part of the concern has been lower demand for gasoline in the United States. “Gasoline demand had an impact in the proposal and it will also be reflected in the final rule,” she said.

In his remarks before the group, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack added that it’s important “for the public to understand that EPA started the RFS with an assumption that gas consumption would continue to increase.” When consumption didn’t increase as projected, “EPA responded to a changing situation.”

NACS believes the RFS cannot be successfully implemented without revisions. NACS also believes that EPA has the authority to address this issue prospectively, beyond an annual basis, and should exercise this authority to set the renewable volume obligations based upon an assessment of the market’s ability to produce the fuel and sell the fuel.

If EPA needs further clarification on this waiver authority, NACS believes Congress should act and move narrow legislation that makes clear that EPA has this authority and should use it under specific circumstances. NACS does not support repeal of the RFS and believes efforts to repeal the program will be unsuccessful.