WASHINGTON-- Coinciding with EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler's visit to Iowa this week, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is launching a week-long ad campaign in the state, urging the agency to follow the direction of President Trump by maintaining a strong Renewable Fuel Standard and approving year-round access to 15% ethanol (E15) blends. These actions would significantly benefit consumers and farmers in Iowa and throughout the country. The ads are set to run on two top Des Moines radio stations this week, WHO-AM and KIOA-FM. Copies of the ads can be found here and here. For the RFS-related ad, listeners are reminded that as presidential candidate, Donald Trump said EPA should ensure biofuel blend levels under the RFS match the statutory levels set by Congress. "Iowans agree...but Trump's EPA has fallen short," the ad states. "The EPA let oil refiners blend 2 billion fewer gallons of ethanol. That's not fair," the ad notes. "...[T]ell President Trump it's time for the EPA to support Iowa farmers," the ad concludes. The E15-related ad highlights that presidential candidate Donald Trump supported removing regulatory barriers that are keeping higher ethanol blends like E15 out of the market. A few weeks ago in Iowa, the president said his administration was "very close" to approving year-round E15. "The EPA is dragging its feet. Tell Administrator Wheeler: It's time to deliver on E15," the ad concludes. "Unfortunately, Acting Administrator Wheeler has inherited previous Administrator Scott Pruitt's legacy of 2.25 billion gallons of RFS demand destruction," RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen said. "If Administrator Wheeler is truly interested in reaching out to farmers harmed by Scott Pruitt's small refiner waiver fire sale, he's got to do more than come to the Midwest and talk. He's got to take action. If he wants to uphold the President's commitment to farmers, he's got to take action. RFA's member companies want there to be no mistake about what the Acting Administrator needs to do — uphold the President's commitment to a 15 billion gallon RFS market for ethanol by reallocating prospective gallons waived for small refiners, and act on the President's commitment to year-round use of E15 by providing RVP parity for higher blends today. Hopefully, Acting Administrator Wheeler's trip to the Midwest will be more successful than his predecessor's disastrous effort and he will bring solutions, not excuses," Dinneen added.
