Citing severe drought that has damaged more than 55 percent of the country's pastureland, Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday once again requested a waiver or partial waiver of the EPA's renewable fuel standard mandate for 2012 and 2013. His letter to the EPA was both echoed and supported by the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association . Here are the details.
* According to the EPA , the Renewable Fuel Standard program was created in 2005 as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The program called for 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended into gasoline by 2012 and 36 billion gallons by 2022.
* The Renewable Fuel Standard was intended to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, reduce the need for imported petroleum and expand the nation's renewable fuels sector, the EPA stated.
* In his Aug. 24 letter to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, Perry wrote that implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standards have "done much more harm than good" by driving up grocery prices and putting a strain on businesses.
* With more than 40 percent of the U.S. annual corn supply now being diverted from livestock to fuel in order to meet the Renewable Fuel Standard's corn-based ethanol requirement, in addition to a reduced corn production in 2012 due to the drought, the standard "threatens the sustainability of our agriculture producers," Perry wrote.
* According to a press release from Perry's office, livestock producers in Texas rely heavily on corn-based products for feed. Texas is the number one beef producer in the nation, with more than 6 million head of cattle fed and marketed in Texas each year.
* Perry had also requested a partial waiver in 2008, based on the adverse economic impact of high food costs and harm to the livestock industry. The EPA denied that request.
* Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association president Joe Parker stated on Friday that "it has been clear from the beginning that putting our food and fuel in competition with one another is bad for the cattle industry and ultimately bad for consumers. This problem is magnified during times of extreme drought like the one we are in now."
* Parker further stated that the government shouldn't be subsidizing or mandating ethanol production when "there's not enough corn to go around."
* On Aug. 20, the EPA requested comment on letters from the Governors of the States of Arkansas and North Carolina, who also asked for waivers of the Renewable Fuel Standard requirements.
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