WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today introduced legislation to ensure the biofuels industry is not penalized for the Environmental Protection Agency’s use of non-scientific data when determining greenhouse gas emissions. Grassley’s bill improves several provisions with the expanded Renewable Fuels Standard that were enacted in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act.
Grassley’s bill is a companion to legislation introduced last week by Collin Peterson, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
“Every chance I get I’m going to bring this issue up. It’s so obvious that the EPA’s rationale doesn’t meet the common sense test,” Grassley said. “It’s ridiculous to think that Brazilian farmers are looking to see what Iowa farmers are doing to determine how they run their own business, and quite frankly it’s plain unfair to farmers.”
Grassley has been pressuring the EPA to use sound science when determining the impact of biofuels on greenhouse gas emissions. Recently the EPA released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that relied on incomplete science and inaccurate assumptions to penalize the domestic biofuels industry for indirect land use changes. Grassley brought his concerns to the attention of President Obama during a recent private lunch. This week, Grassley also raised the issue with Nancy Sutley, the chair of the Council on Environmental Quality at the White House.
Among other things, the bill ensures that greenhouse gas calculations are based on proven science by removing the requirement to include indirect land use changes, and exempts from the lifecycle greenhouse gas reduction requirements any biodiesel plants that were in operation or under construction prior to the date of enactment of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
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