Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue appeared before the House Ag Committee to talk about the state of farm country in rural America.
Perdue said that he didn’t expect the Environmental Protection Agency to complete its E15 rulemaking process in time for the 2019 summer driving season.
An Ethanol Producer Dot Com article says during an appearance before the House Agriculture Committee, Perdue was questioned by three members on E15 and the refinery exemptions granted under the Renewable Fuels Standard during the hearing.
At that point in time, the USDA was encouraging EPA to announce discretionary enforcement of current regulations.
However, the next day, Perdue made an announcement that he’d just been informed by EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler that the E15 rule allowing year-round sales of higher ethanol blends will very likely be ready by this summer.
In talking to reporters, Perdue says, “Today, Acting Administrator Wheeler told me it was very likely that they could get the rule done and would do so, if at all possible.”
EPA says it’s working “expeditiously” to finish the rule by June first. The agency also expects to have a draft rule proposal later in March.