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EPA Grants California Fuel Emissions Waiver Request

Dave Levitan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:42:24 +0000

The Environmental Protection Agency has granted California’s waiver request that will allow the state to enforce strict greenhouse gas emissions standards on cars beginning with the present model year. California first applied for the waiver in 2005, but was denied several years later. Now, the EPA grants the waiver based on the need for California to improve its air pollution conditions.

Hurricane Gustav Spurs EPA to Temporarily Waive Clean Air Act Gasoline Requirements for Parts of Texas

Timothy B. Hurst — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:58:42 +0000

As Hurricane Gustav makes landfall in the U.S. Gulf Coast, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has exercised its authority under the Clean Air Act to temporarily waive certain federal clean gasoline requirements for parts of Texas.

The waiver will last until Sept. 10, 2008 and will allow greater flexibility for the fuel distribution system to support an adequate supply. Granted by EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, the waiver was based on the the extreme and unusual supply circumstances presented by hurricane Gustav, which are likely to result in a shortage of gasoline in some areas.

EPA Denies Texas Request for Ethanol Waiver

Timothy B. Hurst — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:29:19 +0000

Following an analysis that included reviewing 15,000 public comments, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today announced his decision to deny a request submitted by the State of Texas to reduce the nationwide Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). As a result, the required total volume of renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, mandated by law to be blended into the fuel supply will remain at 9 billion gallons in 2008 and 11.1 billion gallons in 2009.

The renewable fuel program was adopted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and was recently expanded in the Energy and Independence Security Act of 2007. This program requires gasoline to contain a specified volume of renewable fuel. The Governor of the State of Texas requested a fifty percent waiver of the national volume requirements for the renewable fuel standard (RFS or RFS mandate) on April 25, 2008.

Administrator Johnson said:

“After reviewing the facts, it was clear this request did not meet the criteria in the law. The RFS remains an important tool in our ongoing efforts to reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions and lessen our dependence on foreign oil, in aggressive yet practical ways.”

Current law authorizes EPA to waive the national RFS if the agency determines that the mandated biofuel volumes would cause “severe harm” to the economy or the environment. The agency recognizes that high commodity prices are having economic impacts, but EPA’s extensive analysis of Texas’ request found no compelling evidence that the RFS mandate is causing severe economic harm during the time period specified by Texas.

Representatives from the food and grocery industry were disappointed with the EPAs decision as they have had to sharply increase the prices of their products which has resulted in a drop-off in sales.

“We are deeply disappointed that EPA has failed to recognize the very clear signs that the food-to-fuel policy is causing severe harm to the economy,” said George Watts, president of the National Chicken Council.

Ethanol, Texas, and a Waiver Request

Heidi Suydam — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 06:06:13 +0000

In an NPR News interview on July 24th, Margaret Kriz, National Journal energy and environment correspondent, discussed ethanol, Texas, the EPA and the ensuing debate regarding Ethanol regulations. Texas has reportedly applied for a waiver of the current ethanol standards. The Energy Policy Act provides an option for a waiver only if the environment or economy would be severely harmed because of the Renewable Fuel Standards.

Texas governor, Rick Perry, has applied for the waiver citing severe stress on prices, livestock and agriculture industry in the state. This has opened discussion and debate regarding the use of ethanol in our fuel. The livestock industry, food industry, and Grocery Manufacturers Association are opposed to the mandated increase in the use of ethanol. Dallas Morning News reports that Governor Perry has gained support from some environmental groups as well.

The Environmental Protection Agency will ultimately decide if Texas will be granted the requested waiver. It is expected that their decision will be made in early August. The spirited debates that have begun as a result of Governor Perry’s request will surely cause our political leaders to revisit the regulations currently in place.

What are we learning from this? Fuel and food are closely related. We need fuel to operate the machines that harvest, process, package and distribute our food. When increasing our use of corn derived fuel such as ethanol we must also take all these other areas into consideration. In addition to the fact that corn is a vegetable we eat, it is also a primary livestock feed source.

Once again, there is a need for a balanced approach in the pursuit of energy alternatives in America. The debate surrounding the use of ethanol is far reaching and diverse, from cleaner burning fuel to world hunger. Ethanol production and consumption are hot topics not soon to be extinguished.

Photo Credit: Fields and Corn Danielle Leininger via Flickr Creative Commons Liscence; Texas Longhorn Steer Charles & Clint’s Photostream via Flickr Creative Commons Liscence

Green Options » waiver

EPA Grants California Fuel Emissions Waiver Request

Hurricane Gustav Spurs EPA to Temporarily Waive Clean Air Act Gasoline Requirements for Parts of Texas

EPA Denies Texas Request for Ethanol Waiver

Other posts about biofuels and the EPA

Ethanol, Texas, and a Waiver Request

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