STATE pF ILLINOIS 

OFFICE OF THC GOVERNOR 

SPRINGFIELD, ILI,INOIS 62706 

Pat Quinn 

GOVERNOR

December 18, 2013 

The Honorable Barack Obama 

President of the United States of America 

The White House 

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Washington, D.C. 20500 

Dear Mr. President: 

Starting January 1, 2014, I will begin my tenure as chairman of the Governors' Biofuels 

Coalition. As incoming chairman and Governor of one of the largest ethanol producing states, I 

am writing to ask that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) proposed 

Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule be reconsidered. 

In Illinois, biofuels play a critical role in the state's economy, with a total economic impact of 

$5.3 billion. In 2012, the Illinois ethanol industry ranked third in the United States for ethanol 

production capacity. Illinois currently has 14 producing ethanol plants providing 4,000 direct 

jobs. Additionally, Illinois produced enough ethanol to displace 35% of the state's petroleum 

usage. 

The rule in its current form would disproportionately impact rural parts of our economy. In 

Illinois, it is critically important to keep the agriculture sector strong and growing. Illinois is 

home to 14 individual renewable fuels facilities with a nameplate capacity of 160 million gallon 

per year (MGY) and an average annual operational capacity of 1.5 billion gallons. lt is estimated 

that the average renewable fuels plant increases commodities feedstock prices by $0.15 -$0.20 

per bushel within a 50 mile radius. Furthermore, a low Required Volume Obligations target will 

limit a valuable market for Illinois soybean farmers and reduce the availability of a more costeffective food and feed source. 

If Illinois loses millions of bushels of potential corn demand based on USEPA's proposed 

ruling, the farm economy will be adversely impacted. 

For 2014, the USEPA has proposed a 1.4 billion gallon reduction in how much corn ethanol will 

be required under the RFS, the federal law that requires the blending of domestic, renewable, 

cleaner-burning corn ethanol in the nation's fuel supply. Because of the record crop, farmers are 

already seeing corn prices falling below the cost of production.
The USEPA's recent proposal would roll back the original target for 2014 and cap the mandated 

volume of biofuels at 15.52 billion gallons, about 1 billion gallons below the 2013 biofuels 

mandate. As the country recovers from the worst economic recession since the Great 

Depression, innovations in the agricultural industry can help protect critical jobs and contribute 

to economic growth. 

Your Climate Action Plan calls for the increased use of biofuels to build a 21 st-century 

transportation sector and reduce carbon pollution. The RFS serves a critical role in this effort by 

providing market certainty for the advancement of biofuels and enabling companies to invest in 

the development and commercialization of cellulosic and advanced biofuels. In the last few 

years, the country has become all too familiar with increasing forest fires, drought and 

historically strong storms. The RFS serves as an important tool in not only protecting valuable 

jobs, but also in working toward a greener future. 

My priority as Governor of Illinois is to protect these crucially important jobs and support a 

diversification of our energy portfolio. Here in Illinois, I am convening an RFS advisory group to 

help move these issues forward. I look forward to working together to achieve these goals of 

mutual importance. In the meantime, I ask that your Administration reconsider the 2014 volume 

number for corn starch ethanol. 

Sincerely, 

F'.-a^ 

Governor Pat Quinn 

cc: Gina McCarthy, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency 

Tom Vilsack, Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture