Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s 2023-2025 Renewable Fuels Standard

The Center for Biological Diversity Challenges EPA’s Fuel Volume Requirements in Lawsuit

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding its fuel volume requirements for corn ethanol and other biofuels for the years 2023-2025. Last month, the EPA set the minimum volume requirements for transportation sector use in 2022 at approximately 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol and 5.63 billion gallons of advanced biofuels.

Environmental Harms Caused by Renewable Fuel Program

Brett Hartl, the government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, expressed concern over the EPA’s avoidance of an honest assessment of the significant environmental harms caused by its renewable fuel program. He stated that these requirements would result in the loss of millions more acres of land, increased pollution in streams and rivers, and the expansion of coastal dead zones. Hartl criticized the Biden administration for failing to reform the program and succumbing to political pressure from powerful special interests.

Lawsuit Challenges EPA’s Failure to Comply with Endangered Species Act

The lawsuit filed today challenges the EPA’s failure to fully comply with the Endangered Species Act. The agency did not complete consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to address harm to endangered species caused by land conversion, pesticide and fertilizer use, and the exacerbation of ocean dead zones.

Despite previous rulings from the D.C. Circuit that highlighted the EPA’s failure to adequately consider harm to endangered species, the agency only requested consultations with the agencies on May 19, 2023, four days after completing its work and sending the final rule to the White House for review. The final rule was announced 30 days later, giving the agencies insufficient time to complete their analyses.

EPA Ignores Environmental Harm from Biofuel Requirements

Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA had the flexibility to set biofuel targets at any level it deemed appropriate for the first time this year, as congressionally set minimum requirements ended in 2022. However, the agency disregarded the significant environmental harm caused by ever-growing biofuel requirements. It mandated 15 billion gallons of conventional corn ethanol for each of the next three years, along with 5.9 billion gallons of advanced biofuels in 2023, 6.5 billion gallons in 2024, and 7.3 billion gallons in 2025.

In a 2018 report to Congress on the renewable fuel program, the EPA acknowledged that 4 million to 7.8 million acres of land had been converted to growing corn and soybeans since the program’s inception in 2005. The rate of land conversion was higher in areas closer to ethanol biorefineries. The use of pesticides and fertilizers is less restricted when corn is grown for fuel, leading to pollution in nearby streams and rivers. This pollution poses a threat to endangered species such as the pallid sturgeon in the Mississippi River and contributes to the worsening of ocean dead zones, which harm endangered sea turtles and other species.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger – The article discusses the use of corn ethanol for biofuels, which can have implications for food production and potentially impact global food security.
• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – The article mentions the pollution of streams, rivers, and coastal areas due to the use of pesticides and fertilizers in corn production for biofuels.
• SDG 13: Climate Action – The article focuses on the Environmental Protection Agency’s fuel volume requirements for biofuels, which are aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.
• SDG 15: Life on Land – The article highlights the harm to endangered species and ecosystems caused by land conversion for biofuel production.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
• Target 6.3: By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater, and increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.
• Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
• Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, and protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator 2.4.1: Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture.
• Indicator 6.3.2: Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality.
• Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries that have integrated climate change measures into policies, strategies, and planning.
• Indicator 15.5.1: Red List Index.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Table

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Source: biologicaldiversity.org

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