WASHINGTON, DC – The National Biodiesel Board sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, asking for an opportunity to present the findings of a new study, “Assessment of Health Benefits from Using Biodiesel as a Transportation Fuel and Residential Heating Oil.” The study from Trinity Consultants quantifies the public health benefits and resulting economic savings of using 100% biodiesel in U.S. communities near heavy transportation corridors — an emerging area of concern for the Environmental Protection Agency.

“We believe that including biodiesel and renewable diesel in the administration’s plans to address carbon is fully consistent with your agency’s focus on environmental justice,” writes Kurt Kovarik, NBB Vice President of Federal Affairs.

“We appreciate Administrator Regan’s commitment to ensuring that biofuels play a role in achieving the nation’s carbon reduction goals,” Kovarik adds. “While the Biden administration has not yet explicitly included biofuels in the American Jobs Plan or the Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Accord, we believe it should. We would like the opportunity to show Administrator Regan how biodiesel and renewable diesel can support EPA’s goals to address climate change and environmental justice issues.”

A copy of the letter is available for download.

NBB’s newly published study shows that switching to 100% biodiesel for home heating oil and transportation could annually bring the 13 communities studied:

• 340 fewer premature deaths.
• 46,000 fewer lost workdays.
• $3 billion in avoided health care costs.
• 203,000 fewer or lessened asthma attacks for communities near heavy-duty transportation corridors.
• 17,000 fewer lung problems for communities that rely primarily on oil for home heating.

Additionally, the switch would bring a 45% reduction in cancer risk for communities near heavy-duty transportation corridors and an 86% reduction in cancer risk for communities that rely primarily on oil for home heating.

The U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel industry supports 65,000 U.S. jobs and more than $17 billion in economic activity each year. Every 100 million gallons of production supports 3,200 jobs and $780 million in economic opportunity. Biodiesel production supports approximately 13 percent of the value of each U.S. bushel of soybeans.

Made from an increasingly diverse mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil and animal fats, biodiesel and renewable diesel are better, cleaner fuels that are available now for use in existing diesel engines without modification. NBB is the U.S. trade association representing the entire biodiesel and renewable diesel value chain, including producers, feedstock suppliers, and fuel distributors.