Ethanol & Biofuels Legislation

1/3/2013 - The U.S. House and Senate Armed Services Committees agreed December 18 on a new US$633.3 Fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which contains certain provisions that permit the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to purchase advanced biofuels and invest in the construction of biorefineries, among other critical programs to national defense.

1/3/2013 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on December 17 dismissed a lawsuit initiated in July by the American Petroleum Institute (API) against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the 2011 cellulosic-biofuel requirements under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS-2) because the suit was filed too late, according to court documents obtained by Ethanol & Biofuels News.

1/3/2013 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is “apparently scrapping” its requirement that all consumers buy at least four gallons of gasoline from certain gas pumps that dispense 15% ethanol (E15) in gasoline blends, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reported in a statement issued December 19.

1/3/2013 - The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on December 14 proposed new performance standards and solid-waste permit requirements for “certain facilities” in Oregon that convert waste into chemicals, fuels, products or energy.

12/19/2012 - Hart Energy’s International Fuel Quality Center (IFQC) revealed in a December 11 webinar that many U.S. fuel refiners and importers could start falling out-of-compliance with biofuels blending mandates by early 2017 because of what looks like a problematic U.S. “Renewable Fuel Standard” (RFS) program.

12/19/2012 - U.S Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced a bill earlier this month that would repeal the Florida Renewable Fuel Standard Act of 2008 – a mandate that was enacted by then-Governor Charlie Crist, which requires gasoline to contain 9% to 10% ethanol.

12/19/2012 - The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) voted December 7 by a 4-1 margin to adopt the first phase of the state’s Clean Fuels Program – a program modeled after California’s low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS).

12/19/2012 - A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) held a press conference on Capitol Hill December 12 to discuss a letter they sent to President Barack Obama that would amend the U.S. tax code for renewable-energy investors to create master limited partnerships (MLPs) and real-estate investment trusts (REITs) to be opened up to renewable-energy projects.

12/12/2012 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should immediately initiate a process to update its obsolete life-cycle greenhouse-gas (GHG) analysis of corn and sugar-cane ethanol under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS-2), according to a letter sent November 30 to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson from Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen.

12/12/2012 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice in the Federal Register on December 6 indicating it will withdraw and reopen for comment provisions of a direct final rule (first published on October 9) that change the definition and a separate section amending the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS-2) requirements for “transmix” fuel produced when refined petroleum products are mixed together during transportation.

12/12/2012 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 3 approved grain sorghum as an eligible feedstock to qualify as an advanced biofuel under the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS-2).

12/5/2012 - The American Petroleum Institute (API) announced November 27 that it has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in federal court to stop the EPA’s rule mandating 1.28 billion gallons of biodiesel in the U.S. diesel-fuel pool in 2013.

12/5/2012 - The U.S. Senate approved on November 28 and 29 amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 that would restore the ability for the Department of Defense (DoD) to purchase advanced biofuels, and to enter into contracts to build and refurbish advanced biofuel biorefineries.

12/5/2012 - The Institute for Policy Integrity (IPI), a think-tank at the New York University School of Law, announced November 28 it submitted a notice of intent to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “unless the agency institutes a cap, or limit, on greenhouse gases [GHG] emissions from cars, boats and planes,” the IPI said in a statement.

12/5/2012 - A group of fuel users, consumers and business organizations in Oregon on November 28 announced they have banded together to form a new coalition – called Oregonians for Sound Fuel Policy (OSFS) – to oppose the adoption of a proposed “Clean Fuels Program” – or low-carbon fuels standard (LCFS) – which will be under review this week by the state’s Environmental Quality Commission (OEQC).

11/28/2012 - The New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA) on November 1 suspended its statewide 5% biodiesel (B5) requirement through April 30, 2013, according to an October 16 NMDA letter obtained by Ethanol & Biofuels News (EBN) that was sent to petroleum refiners, marketers and biodiesel suppliers.

11/28/2012 - The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) on November 16 sent a letter to U.S. Trade Ambassador Ron Kirk seeking the Obama Administration’s help to remove certain trade-distorting policies in Brazil that the RFA sees as contributing to the dramatic decline in exports of U.S.-produced ethanol to Brazil.

11/28/2012 - The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) on November 20 filed a petition for reconsideration of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule for 2013 biomass-based diesel (biodiesel) volume requirements under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).

11/28/2012 - The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced November 15 that it formally ratified the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greenhouse-gas standard for new cars sold between 2017 and 2025.

11/28/2012 - The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently told the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) that, even if it approves the sale of E15 ethanol-gasoline blends in California, the blend wouldn’t appear in the market for several years.