The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just announced the final Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes for 2019, and it’s clear the agency is pushing us in the wrong direction. Next year, consumers will be living under — and paying for — the biggest ethanol mandates in history. More than 19.9 billion gallons of ethanol and biofuels will be blended into our gasoline supply, or at least paid for as part of RFS compliance. That’s 600 million gallons more than last year. 

A bigger RFS, that isn’t reflective of consumer demand or actual biofuel production in the United States, will have negative ripple effects throughout our nation. And instead of siding with the interests of taxpayers, consumers, environmental groups, food and livestock producers and engine manufacturers, the EPA chose to back King Corn and exacerbate the problems associated with the RFS. 

While the EPA made this latest misstep in ethanol mandate history, ultimately responsibility for the RFS lies with Congress. Congress has the power to fix and even sunset the RFS. From restaurant groups to consumer organizations, Smarter Fuel Future coalition members are taking a stand and demanding reform: