FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tricia Braid

(309) 557-3257

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Illinois Corn Growers Association President Ken Hartman, Jr, a family farmer from Waterloo, IL, released the following statement in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement of the proposed renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for 2014, 2015, and 2016. 

“EPA has attacked U.S. farmers for the second time this week, clearly illustrating that the Agency is in the anti-agriculture corner. Today they released the Renewable Fuel Standard RVO numbers and the corn ethanol numbers can only be described as absurd.

“My initial reaction was to say out loud, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’

“Does EPA even know how to read the real-world conventional corn-based ethanol production and usage numbers? It seems like they’re spinning some fairy tale here and expecting the rest of us to play along in this game of make believe.

“Is EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy driving this nonsense? Is it the Obama Administration? Who wants to take credit for EPA’s actions this week?

“This is flat out ridiculous.

“Illinois Corn believes EPA has broken Federal law time and again on the conventional RVO numbers. They’ve snubbed their nose at Congressional statute. They’ve ignored thousands of evidence-based comments on this issue and others.

“This EPA is out of control. It’s high time they be held accountable.”

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