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NFU urges administration to reject gap year waivers
National Farmers Union is urging President Trump and the EPA to reject gap year waivers that would be retroactively applied if granted.
Anne Steckel, senior biofuels advisor with NFU, says the gap year waivers are a blatant attempt by refiners to not comply with the Renewable Fuels Standard.
“We’re really seeing a lot of hits to the ethanol industry and consequently the farmers because of these policies and what the administration is talking about has real-world impact on our farmers and so we’re calling on this administration to deny these waivers immediately,” she says.
She tells Brownfield even EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has questioned how refiners could prove economic hardship after the fact.
“How do you prove that you were having economic harm and how do you do that from a retroactive perspective,” she says. “If your refinery is still in business how do you prove that you had economic harm several years ago during these gap year requests. It’s very difficult and I think the administration is struggling with how to proceed.”
The biofuels industry has already been negatively impacted by coronavirus-related demand destruction. Steckel says National Farmers Union is urging the administration to uphold the RFS, reject the requests, and support biofuels.
Audio: Anne Steckel
