Submit Your Comments to the EPA on the Renewable Fuel Standard Volumes

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) proposal for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) at the end of May. The South Dakota Soybean Association (SDSA) is pleased the EPA increased biodiesel volumes in the latest proposal, but is calling for further growth in the final rule set to be released in November.

The EPA has opened a public comment period on the proposed RVOs. SDSA will submit comments on behalf of our members, but also encourages you to submit personal comments to the EPA. Our goal is to increase the 2016 Biomass Based Diesel category to 2 billion gallons and the 2017 volume to 2.3 billion. Raising the volumes for 2016 and 2017 is crucial to expanding the biodiesel industry in the US. Increasing these numbers creates more demand for soybean oil, thus adding to a soybean farmer’s bottom line.

The deadline to submit comments is July 27, 2015. To submit formal comments follow the steps below:

• Follow this link: https://federalregister.gov/a/2015-13956
• Click “Submit a Formal Comment” in the upper-right corner. Fill in all required fields. Your name, mailing address, and email address will be required to submit a formal comment.

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) has a template letter that can be submitted on your behalf. The letter can be found here.

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is the federal program that requires transportation fuel sold in the U.S. to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels. Biodiesel is the first and only EPA-designated Advanced Biofuel being produced on a commercial scale nationwide with more than a billion gallons each of the last four years.