EPA’s 18-month blunder on biofuel blending volumes

OPINION:

In a major blow to Iowa farmers and biofuel producers, the Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that it expects to establish biofuel blending volumes for 2026, 2027 and 2028 at the end of 2025 — more than a year after federal law requires.

This decision will have far-reaching implications for the agriculture and biofuels industry that support hundreds of thousands of jobs in Iowa and strengthen American energy security while lowering gasoline prices for Americans. To keep Iowa an agricultural and energy powerhouse, it is incumbent upon the Biden administration and the EPA to immediately establish higher final renewable volume obligation, or RVO, levels under the renewable fuel standard that supports biofuels production and delivers certainty and relief to our farmers, producers and rural communities.

Before receiving the news that the EPA would delay consideration of biofuel blending standards for the 2026-2028 period, I led a letter to President Biden and EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging the administration to amend its 2023 decision to set RVO levels well below production capacity and instead increase those levels to reflect the strength and viability of our biofuels industry. The current blending levels were set far below actual production capacity, which contributed to the closing of biodiesel plants in Ralston, Iowa, and Madison, Wisconsin, resulting in lost jobs and fewer options for our farmers.

We must ensure that these closings do not replicate across Iowa and the Midwest. By setting higher RVO levels, grounded in the production potential of our producers, we can stabilize the biofuels industry and set it on course for long-term success.

I also helped send another letter to the EPA administrator led by my colleague Rep. Ashley Hinson, requesting higher blending volumes for biodiesel and renewable diesel for the 2026-2028 period. Iowa remains the nation’s top producer of biodiesel — producing 349 million gallons in 2022, which accounts for 20% of all U.S. production. U.S. consumption of biodiesel surpassed 3.1 billion gallons in 2022 alone.

The Energy Information Administration also projects that renewable diesel production capacity nationwide could double to 5.9 billion gallons by the end of 2025. Yet the Biden administration ignored this and set blending volumes at 2.95 billion gallons in 2025 — far below EIA predictions. With corn and soybean prices falling under $4 and $11 per bushel, respectively, our farmers need robust RVO levels that support demand for fuel and offer them another market for their crops.

In addition, we must continue to hold the Biden administration to its promise that it would maintain a strong RFS. Recent actions by the EPA have proved that Mr. Biden’s pledge on the campaign trail to support biofuels was misleading at best, and entirely false at worst. Iowa farmers and producers depend on the certainty that the RFS delivers, especially in times of economic hardship and price collapses.

The Biden administration’s failure to set renewable volume obligations for 2026, 2027 and 2028 is inexcusable, and its track record of overlooking the needs of agriculture and rural America is unjustified. Our farmers and biofuel producers already face inflation, high interest rates, low commodity prices and regulatory burdens that place pressure on their bottom line.

The EPA’s decision to waste 18 more months before establishing biofuel blending volumes — and wrongfully keeping RVO levels below production capacity for years — just adds salt to the wound. Born and raised in rural Iowa, I will continue to advocate for our farmers and biofuel producers, call for a strong RFS and support homegrown American energy.

• Randy Feenstra represents Iowa’s 4th Congressional District and serves on the House Ways and Means and Agriculture committees.