June 6, 2018
BY Erin Krueger
Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, broke news June 5 that President Donald Trump has rejected a deal on the Renewable Fuel Standard that would have implemented year-round E15 availability, but also allowed renewable identification numbers (RINs) attached to exported biofuel volumes to be used to meet RFS compliance obligations. According to Grassley, rejection of the deal means the ethanol industry must continue to fight for year-round E15.
“Pres Trump helped farmers by rejecting bad ethanol deal. I appreciate. GREAT NEWS,” Grassley tweeted.
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“[President Trump] has said he ‘looovves the farmers!’ #Iowa is feeling that love today, as the President just assured me he ‘won’t sign a deal that’s bad for farmers!’ Thank you, Mr. President!” Ernst tweeted.
Grassley held a media call elaborating on Trump’s action and explaining his support for Trump’s rejection of the RFS deal. “I thank President Trump for helping farmers by rejecting once and for all a proposal that would have undermined the RFS and really hurt ethanol,” Grassley said, noting he appreciates Trump’s commitment to not making any changes to the RFS that would hurt farmers.
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Moving forward, Grassley said he will “continue to push for changes to the way the so-called hardship waiver process is implemented.” To date, waivers approved by U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt have uncut the 15 billion statutory mandate for conventional biofuels, effectively rolling it back to 13.8 billion gallons, Grassley explained. “This all runs contrary to the spirit and letter of the RFS law,” he said.
According to Grassley, he will also continue his work in support of year-round E15 sales. While the White House’s RFS deal initially looked like a victory for ethanol due to its inclusion of year-round E15 availability, Grassley indicated that the positive benefits of Reid vapor pressure (RVP) relief for E15 wouldn’t have been enough to offset damage caused by allowing exports to count towards annual blending quotas. “That’s why the deal would have been a net loss, and that’s why I’m glad the president rejected it for good,” Grassley said.
The U.S EPA on July 17 released data showing more than 1.9 billion RINs were generated under the RFS during June, down 11% when compared to the same month of last year. Total RIN generation for the first half of 2025 reached 11.17 billion.
The U.S. EPA on July 17 published updated small refinery exemption (SRE) data, reporting that six new SRE petitions have been filed under the RFS during the past month. A total of 195 SRE petitions are now pending.
The USDA has announced it will delay opening the first quarterly grant application window for FY 2026 REAP funding. The agency cited both an application backlog and the need to disincentivize solar projects as reasons for the delay.
CoBank’s latest quarterly research report, released July 10, highlights current uncertainty around the implementation of three biofuel policies, RFS RVOs, small refinery exemptions (SREs) and the 45Z clean fuels production tax credit.
The U.S. EPA on July 8 hosted virtual public hearing to gather input on the agency’s recently released proposed rule to set 2026 and 2027 RFS RVOs. Members of the biofuel industry were among those to offer testimony during the event.