By Jerry Hagstrom
DTN Political Correspondent
WASHINGTON (DTN) -- Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said Tuesday that EPA is determined to stick to its promise to issue the volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard, but she declined to provide any details of the proposals that would reassure ethanol producers that they will be satisfied with the final result.
In a speech to Growth Energy, an organization of ethanol producers, McCarthy said she wants to "make sure that the rules get done by Nov. 30" and that she wants the volumetric requirements for renewable fuels to eventually reach congressional targets and lead to more investment in the field.
"You are not just stakeholders, you are investors. For many of you, this is your life," McCarthy said to an audience that has become worried that their investments will turn sour and that other investors are unwilling to put more money into the industry.
McCarthy repeatedly reassured the audience that the Obama administration is committed to renewable fuels and views them as a way to address climate change.
"The biofuel industry is the great American success story... Renewable fuels should remain a vital part of the president's climate-change agenda," McCarthy said to strong applause.
But McCarthy also said that writing the rule is difficult and must be done in a way to pass muster with the courts. One of the major issues, she said, is that the 2007 energy act that includes the Renewable Fuel Standard does not have a lot of the history from hearings and markups that judges usually use to interpret congressional intent.
Noting that the agency is now going through 650,000 comments before finalizing the rule, McCarthy said, "How do I do this in a way that the courts will see as I do as a reasonable interpretation of the law?"
McCarthy urged the ethanol producers to recognize they have a role to play in the climate-change debate, and urged them to take an interest in the administration's efforts.
"The RFS is a tool to address climate change. That is what it is designed for," McCarthy said.
During the question-and-answer session, McCarthy was asked if EPA is likely to use what the industry calls an "off ramp" to change the volumetric requirements in the future. Growth Energy officials noted that if the volumetric requirements are 20% below those in the statute, EPA would gain the authority to set the volumetric requirements differently.
Jeff Broin, the founder of Poet, an ethanol production company, and of Growth Energy, told DTN that the big issue is whether EPA establishes volumetric requirements within the law.
Asked whether Growth Energy might sue EPA if the group is dissatisfied with the volumetric requirements, Broin said that would be a question for the board.
The audience gave McCarthy a standing ovation at the beginning of her speech and at the end. Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis told the audience he had "never met anyone as direct and common-sense in discussion. She doesn't beat around the bush."
At the end of the event, Buis noted that McCarthy led EPA to approve E15, a higher-level ethanol blend, and took her outside to pose for a picture with a NASCAR race car promoting use of the fuel.
(CC/AG)
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