(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Iowa Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds today met with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy and shared Iowa's efforts in implementing the science-based Nutrient Reduction Strategy and urged the EPA to maintain a strong and robust Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The meeting took place while the lt. governor attended National Lieutenant Governors Association meetings in Washington, D.C.
The biennial budget proposed by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and Reynolds recommends $57 million for water quality efforts. After discussing Iowa's efforts with McCarthy, Reynolds said, "The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is an innovative, science-based collaborative effort to advance Iowa's quality water. There are no better stewards of the land than Iowa farmers, and with support from the state, industry and producers, we believe Iowa can be a model for the states in terms of improving water quality."
Reynolds has been a vocal proponent of the RFS in her time in office. When the EPA proposed gutting the RFS last year, she attended events and helped organize the "Hearing in the Heartland" after the EPA declined to hold a public meeting on the matter in the Midwest - the region that would have been affected the most.
"I was pleased to be able to share the successes of a robust Renewable Fuel Standard with Administrator McCarthy," said Reynolds. "We Iowans have seen first-hand that a strong Renewable Fuel Standard creates jobs, increases family incomes, reduces transportation emissions and our dependence on foreign oil, provides consumers more choices at the pump and opens new market opportunities for agricultural products."
A photo of the meeting between Reynolds and McCarthy can be found here.
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