Congressman introduces two bills to reform RFS

In Washington, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) introduced two bills aimed at reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and the national biofuels mandate. Taken together, these bills call for the additional study and evaluation of our ever-increasing ethanol mandate and to ensure Environmental Protection Agency volume obligations for biofuels are based in reality.

The first bill, the comprehensive mid-level ethanol assessment legislation, requires the National Academy of Sciences to provide a comprehensive assessment of research on the implications of the use of mid-level ethanol blends – fuel containing more than 10 percent ethanol by volume –  compared to gasoline blends containing 10 percent or zero percent ethanol. The study will evaluate the performance, safety, and environmental impact of mid-level ethanol blended fuels.

The second bill focuses on cellulosic biofuel assessment. This legislation relaxes the Environmental Protection Agency’s volume requirements for cellulosic biofuel under the RFS to what is commercially available until the National Academy of Sciences submits to Congress a report on the environmental and economic impacts of cellulosic biofuel, and the feasibility of large scale commercial production.