Soy growers to EPA: Stop the deadline merry-go-round

U.S. soybean growers’ heads are spinning as EPA last week once again punted RFS deadlines for oil refiners to comply with 2020 and 2021 blending requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which the agency previously extended in April.

The agency last delayed compliance deadline reporting for small refineries to Jan. 1, 2022, saying the delay was a result of not having released RVOs for 2020, 2021, and 2022. Now, the EPA final rule released Jan. 28 states small refineries have until the next quarterly reporting deadline after the 2021 quotas are established to fulfill them.

ASA sent a news release last Friday, expressing grower frustration with the never-ending merry-go-round of deadline changes. In the release, ASA President Brad Doyle (AR) said, “EPA keeps the biofuels industry and in turn farmers on an unwitting ride that simply does not end. Delaying these compliance deadlines facilitates a cycle of uncertainty that undermines the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard and stifles growth in the biomass-based diesel industry.”