BY Sen. Chuck Grassley's office Found In:Business, PolicySens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; led a bipartisan group of 13 senators in writing to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt requesting the agency cease issuing so-called “hardship” waivers exempting obligated parties from the RFS. READ MORE

BY Renewable Industries Canada Found In:Operations, Markets, Business, PolicyBuilding on the success of current biofuel mandates, Renewable Industries Canada (RICanada) applauds Ontario’s leadership in increasing blending requirements for ethanol in gasoline to 10 percent by 2020. READ MORE

BY Erin VoegeleFound In:Markets, Business, PolicyThe House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment held a hearing titled “High Octane Fuels and High Efficiency Vehicles: Challenges and Opportunities” on April 13. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor testified at the event. READ MORE

BY Sen. Chuck Grassley's office Found In:Business, PolicyIn response to a January letter sent by Sens. Grassley, Thune, Blunt, Fischer and Ernst, EPA has again confirmed that oil refiners aren’t negatively impacted by compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard. READ MORE

BY Tim AlbrechtFound In:Business, PolicyNorth Dakota became the first state to receive federal approval to regulate underground storage of carbon dioxide April 10. The approval puts North Dakota in control of carbon storage within its boarders and is expected to benefit ethanol producers. READ MORE

BY American Coalition for Ethanol Found In:Markets, Business, PolicyACE board member and past board president Ron Alverson of Dakota Ethanol spoke April 12 at the Nebraska Ethanol Board’s 2018 Emerging Issues Forum about assessing new markets based on ethanol’s low carbon emissions benefits. READ MORE

BY Erin VoegeleFound In:Business, PolicyAgriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue briefly addressed the U.S. EPA’s misuse of Renewable Fuel Standard hardship waivers during an April 11 hearing held by the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Agriculture. READ MORE

BY Erin VoegeleFound In:Feedstocks, Business, PolicyThe USDA Commodity Credit Corp. has announced it does not expect to purchase sugar under the Feedstock Flexibility Program during the second quarter of 2018. The next quarterly estimate regarding the FFP is expected to be released by July 1. READ MORE

BY U.S. Grains Council Found In:Markets, Business, PolicyThe U.S. Grains Council is working alongside the U.S. government and with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation to share the U.S. experience in constructing a national ethanol policy with markets quickly growing throughout the Asia-Pacific rim. READ MORE

BY American Coalition for Ethanol Found In:Markets, Business, PolicyThe American Coalition for Ethanol released a controversial new video April 5, addressing fuel retailer concerns about potential liability for vehicle damage from the new E15 fuel. The video can be found on the flexfuelforward.com website. READ MORE

BY Erin VoegeleFound In:Business, PolicySupporters of the biofuels industry are speaking out in response to reports that the U.S. EPA has awarded small refinery waivers under the Renewable Fuel Standard to large refiners. READ MORE

BY Erin VoegeleFound In:Markets, Coproducts, Business, PolicyThe U.S. EPA is seeking public comment on any aspect of the use of isobutanol in gasoline in response to a fuel registration application filed by Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC. The public comment period ends April 30. READ MORE

BY Erin VoegeleFound In:Markets, Business, PolicyOn April 2, the U.S. EPA announced the completion of its midterm evaluation process for GHG emission standards for cars and light trucks for model years 2022-2025. The agency determined that current standards should be revised. READ MORE

BY Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Found In:Business, PolicyDue to rising retailer interest in offering higher blends of biofuels, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program awarded all of its remaining FY18 funds during its third quarter meeting on March 27. READ MORE

BY Erin VoegeleFound In:Coproducts, Business, PolicyThe USDA has released a new report that measures economic growth, job creation and household income from biofuel and bioenergy production, along with future growth in renewable chemicals and biobased products. READ MORE