Statewide
posted
Aug 30, 2012
With the worst drought in 50 years pushing feed prices higher
and adding to the struggles of Vermont dairy farmers, Rep. Peter
Welch is urging Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator
Lisa Jackson to bring relief by relaxing the mandate that requires
the blending of ethanol in U.S. transportation fuel.
Welch and a bipartisan group of 156 lawmakers - 30 Democrats and
126 Republicans - want Jackson to reduce or waive the Renewable
Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires that 10 percent of all
transportation fuel in the U.S. come from corn-based ethanol.
Producing that much ethanol can consume up to 40 percent of the
U.S. corn supply. And with the drought causing expected yields to
plummet and prices to soar - price forecasts are up nearly 40
percent in a month - Welch and his colleagues are urging the EPA to
act now.
"This is common sense. Corn prices are surging and Vermont dairy
farmers are struggling. Whatever we can do to bring relief amidst
the worst drought in 50 years we should do," Welch said. "I'd like
to eliminate the ethanol mandate forever, but let's at least waive
it temporarily for struggling farmers in this extremely difficult
drought."
Welch has been a House leader working to end the unprecedented
taxpayer support enjoyed by the ethanol industry, which includes
the RFS and a protective import tariff of $0.54 per gallon. An
additional $.045 per gallon tax credit for ethanol producers -
which was in place for over 30 years and amounted to a $6 billion
taxpayer expenditure in 2010 - was ended by Congress in
January.
The EPA has opened a 30-day public comment period on the request
to waive the RFS.
Tagged:
drought, ethanol
