EPA Tells Lawmakers It Can Fix Renewable Fuel Standard Without Legislation

摘要

EPA air chief Janet McCabe told a House oversight committee hearing Dec. 10 that the agency hopes to address the multiple challenges facing the renewable fuel standard (RFS) program when its sets annual biofuel blending standards next year that support the program's climate change and energy security goals. "Resolving the fundamental issues that we are facing as part of the 2014 standards rulemaking should go a long way to enabling EPA to complete annual rulemakings on time," she said in her prepared testimony to the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee's energy policy panel. EPA last month announced that it would not be finalizing the current year's RFS in part because it is hoping to increase blend mandates for low-carbon cellulosic fuels as part of the Obama administration's broader effort to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs). Instead, the agency said it would delay issuing the rule until next year, when it would issue it possibly in tandem with annual standards for 2015 and 2016.