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EPA proposes cutting biofuels mandate for 2018

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing lower biofuel quotas in 2018 than those currently on the books and required by federal law.

The proposal would require refiners use 19.24 billion gallons of renewable fuels in 2018, slightly down from the 19.28 billion gallons required in 2017 and about 25 percent lower than the target Congress outlined in 2007. The RFS statue envisions blending 26 billion gallons of biofuel into the fuel supply in 2018.

In a statement, the agency said it was proposing “volumes consistent with market realities.”

National Biodiesel Board said the proposal “continues to underestimate the ability of the biomass-based diesel industry to meet the volumes of the RFS program.”

The biofuels industry has long pushed the EPA to set higher standards for biofuel blending, though the agency has traditionally lagged behind the levels envisioned in a 2007 law passed by Congress.

The EPA is due to finalize its biofuel requirements later this year.