EMMETSBURG — POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels announced a major change on Tuesday, stating in a release that they would be pausing production of cellulosic biofuels at its Emmetsburg facility, known as Project Liberty. Company officials stated “30 team members were impacted” as the plant and its staff shift focus to research and development.

“As part of this effort, the joint venture will use biomass stored on site or already under contract and will not purchase additional biomass at this time,” the release stated. “The team needed to sustain R&D efforts has been evaluated and the joint venture will move forward with a reduced headcount in February. From the very beginning, the team at Liberty have been pioneers, and both companies are grateful for their contribution to the effort. Without these individuals, significant progress in commercializing a new, lower carbon fuel would not have been achieved.”

The company stated the change was due in part to United States Environmental Protection Agency actions, among them the issuance of 31 new small refinery Renewable Fuel Standard waivers.

“We are grateful to President (Donald) Trump for his support of biofuels policies, including year-round E15 and recent efforts to maintain the integrity of the RFS,” said Kyle Gilley, senior vice president of external affairs and communications for POET. “But while the White House is pursuing policy proposals to help biofuels, tremendous harm has been done. Over the last three years, EPA management of the RFS has held back cellulosic ethanol advancement, hindered future agricultural markets for U.S. farmers, and undermined what the president has promised.”

“Because of these policy changes, the economic landscape for cellulosic ethanol in the U.S. makes private and global investments in this technology more challenging,” said Hugh Welsh, president of DSM North America. “As a result, our joint venture is responding by temporarily pivoting and focusing on R&D efforts to improve technological efficiencies and explore additional international licensing opportunities in countries that are not choosing oil over agriculture.”

State Sen. Zach Whiting, R-Spirit Lake, reacted to the change, saying the EPA’s “bungling” of the Renewable Fuel Standard has caused waves in the biofuel industry, with Iowans being hard hit.

“Agriculture is the lifeblood of our region, and unfortunately, a combination of factors has caused the industry to take a hit over the last few years,” Whiting said. “In this case, local producers have had to carefully prioritize their operations. I have heard from representatives for POET and am glad to hear of their efforts to minimize the disruption to their Emmetsburg workforce.

He continued, “While many of these issues fall under federal jurisdiction, I remain committed to working with my colleagues in the Iowa Senate to support our great farmers and the biofuels industry. I appreciate the efforts of Gov. (Kim) Reynolds, Sens. (Chuck) Grassley and (Joni) Ernst, and Congressman (Steve) King to work towards a solution that will allow force EPA to follow the law and allow our farmers and producers to operate to their maximum potential.”

The Emmetsburg facility’s pause in production comes amid RFS discussions in Washington, D.C., with Ernst, Grassley and other colleagues issuing a letter to Trump last week encouraging the president to take corrective action regarding RFS rule-making to account for Small Refinery Exemptions.

The letter states an EPA proposed supplemental rule falls short of a Sept. 12 Oval Office meeting with the president which resulted “in a restorative framework for EPA to incorporate in a supplemental rule,” including “ensuring that at least 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuel are blended, accounting for waivers by using a three-year rolling average of actual volumes waived by SREs.”

“This supplemental rule-making is an opportunity to definitively restore integrity to the RFS, provide certainty for American agriculture, and further bolster our energy independence,” Ernst and others wrote in the letter. “We are confident that reverting to the agreed upon framework to account for actual waived gallons will deliver on your agenda to support thousands of agriculture jobs throughout the Midwest and nation.”

State Rep. Megan Jones, R-Sioux Rapids, said Ernst and Grassley are “honed in and focused” and were “working hard to get the EPA, president and standards all on the same page.”

“Farmers are in a tough spot right now which is why it’s so important that Congress do its job and pass the USMCA,” Jones said. “Iowans are tired of seeing Congress focused on things that don’t improve the daily lives of its citizens. … Let’s get this done.”