EPA defies court order- increases ethanol mandate

Totally lawless. Totally. We knew it was coming. Was this Lisa Jackson’s swan song as going out the door. We can only hope the court imposes consequences. Anarchy begins. This blend can be only used in cars 2002 and newer and harms smaller engines such as lawn mowers.  Americans can go to H*ll as far as this President is concerned. And corn prices skyrocket.

Officials at the Renewable Fuels Association, representing the ethanol industry, said ethanol fuels can be safely used in old cars if owners adapt the fuel systems with new parts. Thanks a bunch guys!

Just one week after a federal court rebuked the Environmental Protection Agency for mandating biofuel standards based on “wishful thinking,” the EPA responded by raising those standards to even more unattainable levels.

The EPA called for refiners and importers to mix 14 million gallons of cellulosic biofuels (ethanol) into fuel in 2013. “EPA calculates a percentage-based standard for the following year,” the agency explained in an announcement today. “Based on the standard, each refiner and importer determines the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must ensure is used in its transportation fuel.”

This projection ignores last week’s ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which struck down a rule requiring gasoline blenders to use 8.65 million gallons of the cellulosic biofuel because the mandate “was based on wishful thinking rather than realistic estimates of what could be achieved,” as The New York Times explained. Per Consumer Energy Report notes, the fuel isn’t commercially available.

The judges faulted the EPA for effectively saying, “Do a good job, cellulosic fuel producers. If you fail, we’ll fine your customers.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., faulted the EPA for ignoring last week’s ruling. “The EPA continues to make up unicorn-like standards in this area of renewable fuels production, as emphasized by last week’s appellate court ruling,” Vitter said in a statement this afternoon. “Increasing the standard after their 2012 requirements were vacated is beyond ludicrous, and they continue to force refiners to either purchase even more gallons of product that doesn’t exist or pay a fine.” Washington Examiner

From am earlier post Recall this? EPA expected to OK more ethanol ? It will destroy many older engines.

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to raise the maximum amount of ethanol that can be blended with gasoline for vehicles manufactured since 2007.

According to people with knowledge of the announcement, the EPA may say as soon as Wednesday that the newer vehicles are able to handle 15 percent ethanol, up from the current maximum of 10 percent for the corn-based fuel.

But the auto industry, environmentalists and a broad coalition of other groups have argued against an increase and called for more testing.

Opponents argue that the increase in production of corn and its diversion into ethanol is making animal feed more expensive, raising prices at the grocery store and tearing up the land.

Manufacturers of smaller engines – used in everything from lawn mowers to boats – also oppose increasing the use of the fuel, saying those engines are not designed for the higher concentrations.

Then there is this Lahood: ‘We are going to coerce people out of their cars – apparently after they destroy our cars or make them prohibitively expensive to drive.