Senate passes Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) legislation

Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) legislation was passed in the U.S. Senate today, Thursday, June 05.  The RFS package was offered by Senators Daschle (D-SD) and Frist (R-TN) and was passed as an amendment (No. 850) to the comprehensive energy bill (S. 14) by a vote of 67-29.  Among other things, the RFS calls for the phase out of MTBE, ensures that refiners use 5 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2012 and eliminates the Clean Air Act 2 percent oxygenate requirement.  The RFS provisions are backed by a coalition that includes members of the oil industry, agricultural groups, environmental and public health groups, and the ethanol industry.

The following second-degree amendments were offered to the underlying RFS amendment:

Amendment #843: defeated 35-60 - would allow the EPA administrator to waive the RFS standard if a state can demonstrate "that it can meet clean air standards without ethanol" and if the RFS would "harm the economy or environment of a state, a region, or the United States ." (Offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)).

Amendment #844: defeated 34-62 - is an "opt-in" amendment stipulating that "The renewable fuels program shall apply to a State only if the Governor of the State notifies the Administrator that the State elects to participate in the renewable fuel program." (Offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)).

Amendment #851: defeated – would have amended the waiver provisions to give the President the authority to suspend the renewable fuels mandate if a particular area’s economy is being harmed by the mandate.  (Offered by Sen. Bingaman (D-NM), Sununu (R-NH)).

Amendment #853: defeated 69-26 - would have amended the RFS so that it would only apply to Midwestern states (Offered by Sen. Schumer (D-NY), Clinton (D-NY)).

Amendment #854: passed (by voice vote) – amended the original cellulosic ethanol (ethanol produced from various waste feedstocks) provision that allowed it to be counted as 1.5 gallons of renewable fuel so that it will be considered as 2.5 gallons of renewable fuel (Offered by Sen. Boxer (D-CA), Lugar (R-IN), Cantwell (D-WA)).

Amendment #856: defeated 38-57 – would have removed the “safe harbor” provision that exempts renewable fuels producers from certain product liability claims (Offered by Sen. Boxer (D-CA)).

The U.S. House of Representatives passed its own version of the Renewable Fuels Standard in April.  It differs from the Senate package in several ways, including an RFS deadline of 5 billion gallons by 2015 and an extension of the Senate’s “safe harbor” provision, which exempts renewable fuels producers from certain product liability claims, to MTBE producers.