By DOUG SCHMITZ

Iowa Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt met with U.S. Sens. Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) on Oct. 17 in Grassley’s office to discuss concerns the lawmakers had about the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“I told Administrator Pruitt that supporting biofuels isn’t just good policy, it’s also what President Trump promised,” Grassley said. “I reiterated what the President told me personally and what he told Iowans during the campaign – that he’s for biofuels and for a strong RFS.

“That message seemed to be well-received by Administrator Pruitt. Renewable energies like biofuels are the backbone of so many local economies across the Midwest and key to meeting the country’s energy needs.”

Last week, Grassley and a bipartisan group of 32 other senators urged the U.S. EPA to maintain levels for 2018 and increase its proposed 2019 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) for biodiesel. He and a bipartisan group of 37 other senators wrote to Pruitt earlier this month calling for a strong RFS. Grassley spoke on the Senate floor about Trump’s commitments on the issue following the release of the latest EPA proposal.

Before his confirmation, Pruitt committed to following Congressional intent, upholding the rule of law and following through on Trump’s commitments, according to Grassley’s office.

Moreover, his office said the EPA has proposed holding the biomass-based diesel volume stagnant for 2019 and reducing the advanced biofuel volume for 2018, which Grassley said would leave potential growth in the industry on the table and could cause near-term job losses in rural America.

In an Oct. 16 letter to Pruitt, he and 29 other senators urged the EPA to increase its proposed 2019 RVOs for biodiesel to “encourage growth in the industry and diversity in the nation’s energy supply, and to abandon its effort to reduce biofuel production in 2018.

“The industry is poised for growth, in accordance with the intent of the law, if the EPA sends the market signals with increased volumes,” they wrote. “Reducing volumes – and especially those RVOs that were previously finalized – is disruptive, unprecedented and very troubling.

“We urge you to support higher RVOs for biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuels in the final rule to encourage additional development and use of this fuel,” they added.

According to a study conducted last year by LMC International, Ltd. in Oxford, N.Y., and released by the National Biodiesel Board, the 2.1 billion gallons of biodiesel and renewable diesel Americans used in 2015 supported 47,400 jobs and $1.9 billion in wages, and had an $8.4 billion economic impact.

“The EPA’s proposal would hold the biomass-based diesel volume for 2019 stagnant at 2.1 billion gallons and decrease the advanced biofuel volume for 2018 to 4.24 billion gallons,” the senators wrote.

“These proposed volumes do not reflect the existing potential for the biodiesel and renewable diesel industries in our states, and could cause near-term job losses and discourage investment in capacity and new fuel development. It is estimated that every 500 million gallons of increased biodiesel production supports roughly 16,000 jobs.

“The EPA’s recent Notice of Data Availability (NODA) solicits comments on whether it could further reduce the total, advanced and biomass-based diesel volumes through several different waiver mechanisms,” but “there is ample available feedstock, refining capacity and room for growth in the domestic biodiesel industry,” they said.

Ernst, a member of the Senate committees on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and Environment and Public Works, issued a statement after meeting with Pruitt. “Iowa is the largest producer of ethanol and biodiesel in the nation. Our farmers, ranchers and rural communities depend on maintaining a strong RFS. Time and again, the RFS has proven to be a major driver of alternative fuels and economic development.

“Throughout his confirmation process, Administrator Pruitt promised me multiple times that he would uphold the spirit of the RFS, as intended by Congress,” she added. “Additionally, the President has consistently stated his support for biofuels and made it clear to Administrator Pruitt that he is supportive of the RFS.”

She said while Pruitt has “insisted that the recent actions taken by the EPA are simply to receive additional input on the RFS from stakeholders, it is evident that the ‘stakeholders’ he refers to are not the farmers and manufacturers across the state of Iowa who would be directly affected if the biodiesel volume requirements were lowered.

“Our meeting today was another clear demonstration that biofuel-producing states will never stop fighting to protect the RFS,” Ernst added. “Administrator Pruitt again claimed today that he will not do anything to undermine the program.”

She said she received commitments from Pruitt in their pre-confirmation meeting and during his confirmation hearing that he would “follow the law and maintain the RFS.

“However, we have heard this before,” she said. “We now need to see it. I will continue to work with the EPA, but they must prove to the agricultural community who put their faith in this administration that they will fulfill their promise to maintain the letter and the spirit of the RFS. We will not accept anything less.”