http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/

v 2.4.3.0

Twenty-five senators from both political parties signed and sent a letter to an EPA administrator requesting a waiver of the Renewable Fuels Standard. The National Pork Producers Council and 156 House lawmakers also favored a waiver. It was hoped that a waiver would ease concerns about the corn supply and allow corn prices to decrease somewhat. Wisconsin Ag Connection (Wis.), Aug. 8, 2012. There were reports of many others around the country pushing for a waiver of the quotas for corn-based ethanol production. The Environmental Protection Agency refused to waive the mandate requiring the production of 13.2 billion gallons of fuel this year, despite many requests. Intense drought this summer reduced the corn crop, driving corn prices to record levels, making it exorbitant to feed livestock or purchase corn for the production of ethanol. The governors of Arkansas, North Carolina, New Mexico, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Utah, and Wyoming, poultry, pork and cattle producers, members of Congress and various industries all wanted the mandate lifted, but the EPA said there was no evidence of “severe economic harm” to any state or region of the U.S., warranting a change in the mandate. Reno Gazette-Journal (Nev.), Nov. 16, 2012