ANKENY, Iowa - Reacting to today's announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency that it will not finalize the 2014 Required Volume Obligations before the end of the year, Grant Kimberley, executive director of the Iowa Biodiesel Board, issued the following statement:
"At the news of this delay, we're hopeful it could indicate that EPA might be taking the time to revise its proposal. An increased RVO for biomass-based diesel would mean good news for Iowa, the number one biodiesel-producing state. Uncertainty has hurt the biodiesel industry and created a ripple effect through the farming community, major ag suppliers and equipment companies. But the EPA has the chance to reverse this.
"The Proposed Rule as it stood would have taken biodiesel backwards from the volumes produced in 2013. The Administration has a chance to make it right by finalizing a 2014 rule that sets the Renewable Fuel Standard's biomass-based diesel volumes at or above the nearly 1.8 billion gallons consumed in 2013. We also urge them to fix the RVO process so we don't have to face this disruptive uncertainty every year. We need to put biodiesel back on the course of diversifying America's fuel supply, supporting green jobs and boosting economic development."
The Iowa Biodiesel Board is a nonpartisan state trade association representing the biodiesel industry.
