Chad Smith, NAFB News Service

Two-dozen senators recently sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency calling on the Trump Administration to reject calls to alter or get rid of the Renewable Fuels Standard. The letter says it is nothing but an oil industry-backed effort to get rid of biofuels. The senators wrote that waiving the RFS would exacerbate the effects experienced by the biofuel sector as a result of COVID-19, causing far-reaching detrimental impacts on employment, farmers, food security, fuel prices, and the environment. “We are grateful for our champions who stand shoulder-to-shoulder with rural communities confronting a wave of biofuel plant closures, farm bankruptcies, and demand destruction amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “The oil industry’s attempt to steal markets from farmers and biofuel producers threatens to dash hopes of an economic recovery in the farm belt.” Kurt Kovarik, Vice President of Federal Affairs at the National Biodiesel Board, says, “America’s biodiesel producers appreciate the strong leadership of the senators who oppose the efforts to undermine the RFS. Maintaining a strong RFS will be critical to the rural economy’s recovery.”