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Ag groups sue EPA over emission vehicle standards
Several state corn and soybean groups are suing the EPA over its revised greenhouse gas emissions standards that would focus clean energy efforts on electric vehicles.
The groups’ petitions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia argue the rule change would be detrimental to the biofuel sector by only allowing electric vehicles.
Missouri Corn Growers President Bradley Schad calls the proposed rule “an extensional threat” to biofuels.
“It requires an electric vehicle and there is no liquid fuel whatsoever that will go into an electric vehicle into the future.
And he says rural infrastructure isn’t ready to move away from liquid fuel.
“We’ve got all these small businesses, mom and pops, that are going to go out of business because they can’t afford to put in electric charging stations, nor do they have the vehicles there,” he said. “We’re a long way from rural America, rural Missouri from going fully electric, which this administration has pushed. It’s going to be very difficult to do that.”
Schad said if the rule isn’t changed, an alternative could be using biofuels in hydrogen fuel cells for electric vehicles.
Two petitions have been filed with one including state corn groups from Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan and Missouri. Another petition has been filed including state soybean groups of Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, North Dakota and South Dakota. Valero Renewable Fuels, Clean fuels Development Coalition, ethanol company ICM and Diamond Alternative Energy were also part of the petitions.
