RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.White House Chief of Staff Advised a Resistant Trump to Fire the E.P.A. Chief
By Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Lisa Friedman, The New York Times.
John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, told President Trump last week that Scott Pruitt, the embattled administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, needed to go following damaging allegations about ethical infractions and spending irregularities, according to two officials briefed about the conversation.
But Mr. Trump, who is personally fond of Mr. Pruitt and sees him as a crucial ally in his effort to roll back environmental rules, has resisted firing him, disregarding warnings that the drumbeat of negative headlines about the administrator has grown unsustainable and that more embarrassing revelations could surface.
Senators ask Trump to suspend EPA's use of biofuel waivers
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Five Republican senators on Monday called on President Donald Trump to temporarily halt the use of biofuels policy waivers for small oil refineries, after reports the Environmental Protection Agency had issued a recent wave of such exemptions.
By Jarrett Renshaw & Chris Prentice, Reuters.
By Jarrett Renshaw & Chris Prentice, Reuters.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Five Republican senators on Monday called on President Donald Trump to temporarily halt the use of biofuels policy waivers for small oil refineries, after reports the Environmental Protection Agency had issued a recent wave of such exemptions.
The group of lawmakers, which includes Senators Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa and John Thune of South Dakota, said the EPA waivers are “undermining” the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, a law that requires biofuels like ethanol to be added to the nation’s fuel, which Trump has said he supports.
“We therefore urge you to call on the EPA to cease all RFS waiver action until the agency’s administration of the RFS can proceed in a more transparent and impartial manner,” the senators said in a letter dated April 9.
Arizona Senate puts utility-written renewable energy plan on ballot
By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services.
PHOENIX — State senators voted Thursday to put a measure crafted by the state’s largest electric company on the November ballot to compete with a far more stringent initiative on renewable energy.
The 16-11 party-line vote in the Republican-controlled chamber came over objections from Democrats who said the House measure, dubbed the “Clean and Affordable Energy for a Healthy Arizona Amendment,” is designed solely to confuse voters with the “Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona Amendment” being financed by California billionaire Tom Steyer.
EPA waiving biofuel quotas spurs rebuke
By Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Mario Parker, Boston Globe.
The Environmental Protection Agency has given more than two dozen small refiners permission to ignore the nation’s renewable fuel mandate, angering competitors and farm-state lawmakers who say the exceptions undermine the program.
Roughly 30 refineries are seeking waivers from the Renewable Fuel Standard for the 2017 compliance year, and so far at least 25 have won them, according to two people familiar with the process.
14 States Sue EPA Head Over Alleged Clean Air Act Violations
By Courtney Platt, OPB.
Washington and Oregon have joined a lawsuit alleging U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt is violating the Clean Air Act. The lawsuit says the government needs to limit methane emissions from existing oil and gas facilities.
The suit, filed by 14 states, Chicago and Washington, D.C., says Pruitt and the EPA are ignoring an Obama-era methane rule.
RNG Coalition Issues Statement on EPA's Use of Small Refiner Exemption
April 5, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas CEO, Johannes Escudero, issued the following statement today on the U.S. EPA's recent and increasing use of the Small Refiner Exemption in the Renewable Fuel Standard Program:
"The Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas is concerned that EPA is granting 'hardship waivers' to Fortune 500 corporations under the Small Refiner Exemption (SRE) of the Renewable Fuels Standard, and America should be disturbed by the lack of transparency or notice and comment through which it is occurring. It is poor policy implementation and a clear attempt to undermine a statute put in place by Congress.
We strongly urge EPA to cease granting these waivers immediately and request a moratorium on any further exemptions. Additionally, we urge EPA to create a public process for any future waiver considerations that does not retroactively reduce annual renewable volume obligations, and that has predetermined deadlines when petitions must be received and determinations made."
US targets waiver letting California steer emissions limits
By The Associated Press, via WTOP.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Scott Pruitt, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, turned his sights this week on a nearly half-century-old federal waiver that allows California to pursue its own, tough tailpipe emission standards, and allows other states to opt in to California’s standards rather than federal ones if they choose.
The waiver has allowed California, the U.S. state with the most people and the biggest economy, to steer the rest of nation toward tougher limits on car and truck emissions that pollute the air and change the climate.
Groups Condemn Agency for Non-Transparent Use of RFS Exemptions for Refiners
By Chris Clayton, DTN Ag Policy Editor.
OMAHA (DTN) -- The Environmental Protection Agency has opened its own "back-door waiver" to the Renewable Fuel Standard by granting retroactive exemptions to RFS obligations to more than a dozen small refiners, including some that are part of highly-profitable refining conglomerates.
By Chris Clayton, DTN Ag Policy Editor.
OMAHA (DTN) -- The Environmental Protection Agency has opened its own "back-door waiver" to the Renewable Fuel Standard by granting retroactive exemptions to RFS obligations to more than a dozen small refiners, including some that are part of highly-profitable refining conglomerates.
"I smell a rat. I smell a rat," said Scott Irwin, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois who studies the Renewable Fuel Standard.
In examining how EPA is granting exemptions to RFS obligations, Irwin said, "This is real and there are large uncertainty on the market impacts."
From hog to RNG in North Carolina
By Bioenergy Insight.
An innovative power plant in Charlotte, North Carolina, is taking renewable biogas from hog farms in the state and using it to generate electricity.
According to a statement, it is the first time the technology has been applied from in-state farms.
The Optima KV project, in Duplin County, is capturing methane gas from the hog waste of five local farms, and transporting it through more than 42,000 feet of in-ground piping to a central location. There, the gas is cleaned and converted to pipeline-quality natural gas.
How Corporate Fleets Can Go Carbon-Negative Now with RNG
By Thomas Lawson, via CleanTech.
Many corporate leaders committed to supply chain sustainability are waiting for a full range of electric vehicles to hit the market to achieve zero emissions from their heavy-duty truck fleets. But there’s no need to wait: With a new model natural gas engine now in commercial production, fleets can meet their heaviest-duty needs using carbon-negative renewable natural gas (RNG) in near-zero-emission natural gas trucks.
Early-adopter fleet operators such as UPS and Waste Management have already embraced RNG, but others could be forgiven for not having it on their radar. The conversation about achieving zero emissions from transportation has focused almost exclusively on electric vehicles. But policies that look only at tailpipe emissions are leaving out a vital part of the transport supply chain: fuel production. It’s there that RNG shines.
Don’t miss an update—join our weekly newsletter below.