The Environmental Protection Agency missed the November 30 statutory deadline for setting the Renewable Volume Obligations in the Renewable Fuels Standard. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the agency has no excuse for kicking the can down the road on this requirement every year since 2019.

He’s also alarmed about speculation that EPA is planning to lower the blending requirement retroactively for 2020. Grassley says with EPA not setting the biofuels blending levels or enforcing the RFS it creates uncertainty in the marketplace, which hurts farmers and consumers.

Reports that oil refiners are threatening to walk away from the RFS and stop buying RINs is concerning to Grassley, but not surprising.

He says if the President is really serious about getting to a carbon neutral status he should support use of higher blends of biofuels.