(NAFB) – Critics of the Environmental Protection Agency’s renewable volume obligations announcement say the proposal sets the precedent of revising previously finalized volumes in the Renewable Fuel Standard.

EPA proposes to retroactively reopen and reduce the finalized 2020 renewable volume obligation, slashing the already settled conventional biofuel blending volume for that year from 15 billion gallons to 12.5 billion gallons.

Iowa Corn Growers Association President Lance Lillibridge says, “Biden’s own EPA is undercutting the benefits of clean-burning ethanol and the livelihoods of corn farmers.”

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley responds, “The administration’s unprecedented plan to retroactively cut blending levels for previous years is a boon for Big Oil,” adding, “What’s to stop the administration from slashing 2022 obligations down the line?”

If the proposal is finalized, industry groups expect lengthy litigation against the EPA over the action. And some see the proposal as further proof for the need to pass the Next Generation Fuels Act.