The EPA has finally proposed rules that growers like on year-round E15 sales and use of the widely deployed pesticide, chlorpyrifos.
More than a year overdue, the Environmental Protection Agency has sent the White House for final ok a rule to allow year-round E15 sales requested by eight Midwest governors in their states—Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
But Renewable Fuels Association head Geoff Cooper said earlier, Congress also needs to act nationally. Cooper, “But longer-term, we still need a permanent solution to ensure that drivers can still access E15 year-round.”
Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor urged the White House Office of Management and Budget to quickly finalize EPA’s rule so the marketplace has enough lead time to prepare for E15 sales next summer.
Separately, the EPA says it will reverse its 2021 ban on the widely used pesticide chlorpyrifos and commit to its science-based review, as ordered by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. American Farm Bureau attorney Travis Cushman says AFB sued EPA in the 8th Circuit after years of legal battles mounted by environmental groups.
Cushman says, “A lot of groups continue to fight us. They have had some success in that circuit, and they keep on going there. And, the EPA has often been hamstrung and had their hands tied in many of its actions.”
EPA could have appealed the 8th Circuit order upholding chlorpyrifos’ agricultural use but decided not to. Its ban forced soybean, fruit, and vegetable growers to turn to less effective and more expensive pesticides.