US enviro agency to check whether renewable fuels make air quality worse

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Tuesday it has agreed to a deadline of March 30, 2020 to complete an anti-backsliding study to determine whether its renewable fuel use requirements affect air quality.

In October 2017, US environmental organisation Sierra Club launched a lawsuit against the EPA Administrator related to the latter’s failure to assess and report on the environmental and resource conservation impacts of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) programme. Its complaint also attacked the agency for failing to conduct the anti-backsliding study, which would show whether the changes in vehicle and engine air pollutant emissions resulting from the RFS renewable fuel volumes adversely impact air quality.

In October 2018, several environmental and conservation groups, including Sierra Club, also raised the question why the EPA has illegally allowed millions of acres of wildlife habitat to be converted into corn and soybean crops to meet RFS demand for fuels like ethanol and biodiesel.

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