Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said Thursday the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement of the final rule to implement new Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) regulations includes indirect land use models which will be a burden on the biofuels industry.

“This is a serious issue, and I will work with my colleagues to ensure U.S. agriculture policy is not based on unreliable data and decisions made by other countries,” Smith said. “While I’m glad to see ethanol and biodiesel will qualify as advanced biofuels under the RFS, I have concerns with the international indirect land use portion of this final rule.”

On Wednesday, Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., also expressed disappointed that the EPA remains “fixated on their flimsy, untested, and unreliable theory that holds our farmers and ethanol producers responsible for land use decisions made half way around the world.”

“I am additionally disappointed that with all of today’s announcements, there was no mention of E-15,” he said. “Increasing the percentage of ethanol in gasoline to as much as 15 percent is the next logical step in the expansion of this nation’s ethanol production capacity. It would not only benefit the economy, but also our nation’s energy security.”

The RFS in the 2007 Energy Bill mandates the use of 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2020. To qualify for the RFS, fuels must meet various goals for greenhouse gas reduction.

The EPA’s indirect land use rules count the emissions of greenhouse gasses resulting from land use decisions in other countries against domestic biofuels. With international indirect land use factored into ethanol’s greenhouse gas score, it dramatically reduces the overall environmental benefit of domestic ethanol production.