The EPA today proposed an increase in the amount of ethanol and other biofuels required to be blended in the nation’s fuel supply next year. Via The Hill, the 18.8-billion-gallon target is still smaller than what was mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The proposed ethanol volume is 300 million gallons more than what was required last year, while the total biofuel target represents an increase of 700 million gallons.
The proposal has drawn the ire of ethanol groups and the oil industry. Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen accused the EPA of catering to the oil industry and failing to deliver on its promise to put the RFS “back on track.” The American Petroleum Institute, meanwhile, said the Obama Administration was putting consumers’ safety and vehicles and the U.S. economy at risk by pushing higher biofuel blending volumes.
The EPA faces a Nov. 30 deadline to finalize the RFS.
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