EPA OIG Will Audit EPA’s Safer Choice Program

On September 23, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced that it plans to begin fieldwork on EPA’s Safer Choice program. According to OIG, its objectives are to identify and assess the controls that EPA has in place to verify that the Safer Choice program meets its goals and achieves quality standards through its product qualification, renewal, and required audit process. OIG states that Safer Choice “is a voluntary labeling program that helps consumers and commercial buyers find chemical-based products that are safer for human health and the environment.” OIG plans to conduct work at headquarters and at various third-party assessor and auditor locations. It will use applicable generally accepted government auditing standards in conducting its audit. The anticipated benefits of the audit “are reducing the use of chemicals of concern and empowering consumers to protect their health.”

USDA Solicits Applications For Funds Under The Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, And Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program

On October 15, 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS) announced via the Federal Register the solicitation of applications for funds under the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program (the Program). Under the Program, USDA provides guaranteed loans to fund the development, construction, and retrofitting of commercial scale biorefineries using eligible technology. The loans are also used to fund the development of biobased product manufacturing facilities that use technologically new commercial-scale processing and manufacturing equipment to convert renewable chemicals and other biobased outputs of biorefineries into end-user products on a commercial scale. There will be two separate application cycles. The first cycle closed on October 1, 2019, and the second cycle will close on April 1, 2020. Applications filed after the aforementioned dates will be considered for the next application cycle, should funding be available.

Senator Lankford Releases Statement On EPA’s Supplemental RFS Proposal

In response to EPA supplemental proposal outlined above, on October 15, 2019, U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) issued a statement expressing his disappointment with EPA’s RFS mandates. Senator Lankford’s statement reads in part:

The RFS has been a problem since day one, and the proposed increase to the mandate only further complicates a broken federal requirement to blend biofuels into gasoline. This proposal continues allowing exemptions for small refineries but spreads their biofuels-blending obligation out to other refiners in the market. Despite the possibility that small refiners will get waivers from the Standard, the cost of compliance will likely go up for everyone else trying to provide fuel to American consumers—a cost that will surely be passed down to the consumer. As I have said many times, if the market demands higher biofuel blends, our producers can supply it, but we should not require biofuels to be blended, since it will ultimately increase gas prices for Oklahomans. Higher gas prices mean higher prices for many things our families need, like groceries. Higher gas prices especially affect those on a fixed income.

Critical of EPA’s management of the RFS program, Senator Lankford has called for a repeal of RFS a number of times in both the House and Senate. Senator Lankford continues to speak out about having a market-driven energy policy.