EPA Rejects Waiver Request On Ethanol

Decision Disappoints Meat Industry WASHINGTON - The chicken industry and other meat producers are "deeply disappointed" by the Environmental Protection Agency's refusal to grant a waiver of the ethanol mandate that is diverting billions of bushels of corn from livestock and poultry feed into motor fuel, according to the National Chicken Council. Texas Gov. Rick Perry asked the EPA to cut the federal ethanol mandate in half for a year. Federal law allows EPA to grant a waiver of the ethanol mandate if needed. An energy bill passed in December required 9 billion gallons of ethanol to be blended into gasoline from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31 of next year. Perry asked the EPA in April to drop the Renewable Fuels Standard requirement to 4.5 billion gallons because demand for ethanol is raising corn prices for livestock producers and... [read full story]