The EPA reduces the ethanol quota

The Environmental Protection Agency dealt a blow to many corn farmers last week by proposing to cut the required amount of ethanol in the 2014 transport fuel supply from 18 billion to 15 billion gallons. The corn-based renewable fuel has been touted as a way to fight climate change, but the EPA said the existing schedule for phasing it in—decided in 2007—is impractical in the light of a nationwide drop in demand for motor fuel overall. The proposal angered farmers and refiners who invested heavily in the ethanol industry on the basis of the 2007 schedule, expecting demand to soar. “We’re all just sort of scratching our heads here today,” said Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association.