ORLANDO– On March 2nd, Governor Reynolds received the Renewable Fuels Association’s All-Industry Award and addressed the National Ethanol Conference. Below are excerpts from her remarks: 

“Receiving the All-Industry Award is a personal honor and a humbling validation of our many years spent fighting for renewable fuels, going back to my time as Lt. Governor and testifying against efforts to water down the RFS. Since then, my belief in this industry has never wavered. I even made a point to give biofuels a shoutout in my response last year to President Biden’s State of the Union. And make no mistake, as the nation’s attention turns to Iowa heading into 2024, renewable fuels will be part of the conversation. 

“I was proud to lead a multi-governor, bipartisan letter that successfully pushed the EPA to issue a waiver. Giving Americans access to lower cost E15 over the summer when gas prices were at their highest. But this temporary fix was just the beginning. The letter also included a regional request that the EPA provide permanent access to E15 in future summers. I was pleased to learn that this week the federal government published the final rule that will fulfill its statutory obligation to comply with this request. The impact of this victory will be enormous. 

“With Washington there is always a catch. In addition to the White House forcing the EPA, unlawfully, to slow-walk the rule, they have also delayed implementation until the next summers’ driving season. This arbitrary deadline is unacceptable and disappointing, but hardly surprising and we won’t accept it without a fight. I’m requesting another emergency waiver to this year while at the same time asking the courts to require the Administration to grant our request immediately. I’ve also requested a meeting with President Biden to discuss the critical timeliness of the waiver.”