Media Contacts:  

Taylor Gage, 402-471-1970

Justin Pinkerman, 402-471-1967

Media Release:

Gov. Ricketts, Fellow Governors Call on EPA to Revise Rule on Biogenic Carbon Emissions

LINCOLN – Governor Pete Ricketts recently joined the governors of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and South Dakota to write a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler.  The six governors urged the EPA to revise regulations on biogenic carbon emissions to recognize their negligible environmental impact.

“EPA is the only regulatory authority in the world that neglects to distinguish between biogenic carbon emissions and those from fossil fuels,” the Governors wrote.  “The failure to correct this erroneous policy is harming our agricultural communities and affecting our efforts to expand our states’ biobased industries.”

The EPA’s current regulatory framework hampers rural development by placing unnecessary regulatory burdens on bioeconomic producers in the United States.

“EPA’s regulatory policy concerning agricultural crops disadvantages our states and America’s biobased producers—giving foreign producers a significant advantage,” the Governors wrote.  “According to USDA’s analysis, the nation’s bioeconomy generates $459 billion in economic activity, and provides 4.6 million American jobs.  However, other countries have a substantial competitive advantage for construction, modernization and improvement of facilities.”

Read full text of the letter Governor Ricketts co-wrote to the EPA by clicking here.