Sustainable Bioenergy, Farms, and Forests - August 26, 2016

Inspector General: EPA Has Failed to Report on the Impact of Ethanol, RFS

On August 18, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report detailing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s failure to adequately evaluate the environmental impacts of biofuels. Quantifying these impacts is especially crucial as Congress assesses the success of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires an increasing percentage of renewable fuels to be blended in the fuel supply.

The OIG review, announced in October 2015, addresses two areas pertaining to the RFS: 1) EPA’s lack of compliance with reporting requirements of the law, and 2) EPA’s failure to update its lifecycle analysis for biofuels. EPA is supposed to provide updated reports to Congress on the impact of RFS every three years, but hasn’t provided one since 2011. Additionally, EPA failed to complete the “Anti-Backsliding Analysis” to ensure that air quality is not worsened by the RFS. EPA has not updated its lifecycle analysis on the environmental effect of the RFS—while not legally required, it is something that EPA committed to do as updated science becomes available.

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Headlines

1. Bioenergy Technologies Office Allocates $1 Million for Round 2 of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Small Business Vouchers Pilot  

2. It Is Time to Address Reid Vapor Pressure  

3. Louisiana Flooding Will Cost State Agriculture $110 million 

4. Op-Ed: Vilsack Needs to Confront Ethanol's Role in Water Quality  

5. High-Price Ethanol Credits Add to Refiners’ Woes 

 

Upcoming Events: 

1. 2016 NASEO Annual Meeting

September 11-14, 2016

Providence Biltmore

Providence, Rhode Island

The 2016 Annual Meeting marks NASEO’s 30th anniversary as an organization. Over the past three decades, the State and Territory Energy Offices have worked together and with partners at the national, state, and local levels to advance practical, cost-effective, and impactful policies and programs. This meeting will celebrate their past successes and convene decision makers around today’s pressing energy issues. Register today to reserve your spot in the dynamic discussions and intimate networking opportunities that will help shape the future of state energy cooperation and policy innovation. EESI is a supporting sponsor of the 2016 NASEO Annual Meeting.

 

2. EPA Biogenic Carbon Emissions Panel - Public Teleconference

The U.S. EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board staff office has announced plans to hold a public teleconference of the SAB biogenic carbon emissions panel on Oct. 12 as part of its continuing review of the framework for biogenic CO2 emissions from stationary sources first released in November 2014 and updated this February.

 

 

 

To Contact the Editor: Rebecca Chillrud at biomass@eesi.org

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