IMPORTANT PARTNERS SHOW UP FOR ETHANOL & IL CORN

Lindsay Mitchell

Dec 02, 2019  |  Today's News |  Ethanol |  Legislation & Regulation

Senators Tammy Duckworth and Richard Durbin, along with Illinois Director of Agriculture John Sullivan, showed up for ethanol and IL Corn last week with their own comments on the EPA's proposed rule to reallocate waived gallons of ethanol.

 

In a letter on November 26, Senators Duckworth and Durbin remind the EPA that their proposed rule doesn't not "uphold Congressional intent of the RFS" or help to support the thousands of rural jobs across the country.  The Illinois senators joined seven other senators in the following declaration:

 

"We encourage the Adminstration to properly account for waived gallons by using the three-year rolling average of actual SREs and to increase advanced biofuel volumes for the 2020 compliance year."

 

Thankfully, Illinois Director of Agriculture John Sullivan also weighed in on the issue, sending his own letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.

 

Director Sullivan wrote in his letter, "When demand for Illinois' agricultural products is cut, it ripples through the state's entire economy.  Illinois' agriculture commodities generate more than $19 billion annually for the state.  MArketing of corn contributes 54 percent of that total, and soybeans contribute 27 percent.  Illinois has 14 ethanol plants and 8 biodiesel plants that provide a market for corn and surplus soybean oil, contribute billions to the state's economy, and employ thousands of Illinois' citizens.  EPA can prevent future losses of biofuel demand and agricultural crop value by including the best estimate of future exempted volmes in its formula for setting the annual RFS standards.  The most reliable estimate would employ an average of actual gallons waived by EPA during the three most recent compliance years."

 

The Illinois Corn Growers Association and the corn farmers in Illinois are grateful for the support of our leadership in resolving this ethanol demand issue with the U.S. EPA.