Sustainable Bioenergy, Farms, and Forests - June 29, 2018

Senate Passes Strong Bipartisan Farm Bill – Reauthorizes Important Energy, Efficiency & Conservation

On Thursday, June 28, the Senate overwhelmingly passed (86 -11) the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (S. 3042), which reauthorizes and preserves important programs in the Energy Title (IX), the Conservation Title (II) as well as programs that help reduce energy costs and usage in rural communities, through the Rural Development Title (VI). Facing the worst farm economy in decades, as well as uncertainty around trade and tariffs, lawmakers are under additional pressure to reauthorize the Farm Bill prior to the September 30th expiration date.

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RFS Roundup: EPA Announces Renewable Fuel Volumes for 2019 – Increase Obscures Impact of Waivers

On June 26, EPA released proposed volumes for renewable fuels (cellulosic, advanced, and conventional biofuels) for 2019, and biodiesel volumes for 2020.  While overall, the numbers are 3 percent higher across fuel categories as compared to 2018, the proposed volumes obscure the fact that the EPA has provided nearly two dozen waivers to small oil refiners. The EPA proposal reveals that the agency has granted exemptions to small oil refineries totaling 2.25 billion gallons. According to the biofuels industry and their supporters on Capitol Hill, these waivers constitute demand destruction. 

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Headlines: 

1. Scandals Haven’t Beaten Pruitt. A Policy Spat Over Biofuel Might 
2. Iowa Nitrogen Pollution in the Water Is Getting Worse, Despite Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Spending, Study Shows
3. Soil Farmers: How A Renewed Focus On The Land Is Building More Resilient Farms
4. Feeling Blue? How this Entrepreneur Revitalized a Natural Dye Industry
5. How a Simple CDC Error Inflated the Farmer Suicide Crisis Story—and Led to a Rash of Inaccurate Reporting

 

To Contact the Editor: Jessie Stolark at [email protected]

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