Grocers, Small Businesses, Home Builders, Restaurant and Lodging Association Join Coalition Opposing Oregon Low Carbon Fuel Standard

SALEM, OR--(Marketwired - Oct 21, 2013) - With the 2014 Oregon Legislative short session approaching quickly, four powerhouse Oregon industry associations -- the Northwest Grocery Association (NGA); the Oregon Home Builders Association (OHBA); the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association (ORLA); and the National Federation of Independent Business, Oregon (NFIB/Oregon) -- have joined Oregonians for Sound Fuel Policy (OSFP), a statewide coalition of business groups that opposes an unnecessary, costly and legally invalid Oregon 'low-carbon fuel standard' (LCFS).

"I speak for my fellow new OSFP member-groups when I say we stand ready to help ensure that the flawed Low Carbon Fuel Standard gets put to rest in Oregon," said Jon Chandler of the Oregon Home Builders Association. "Among the four new organizations, we represent thousands of small businesses and major employers -- and tens of thousands of employees -- in every single community and legislative district in Oregon. Our members work hard enough keeping their doors open while complying with existing state and federal standards. Another redundant, legally invalid and unworkable program is simply the wrong move for Oregon."

The Northwest Grocery Association represents more than 200 member companies, with member stores in every legislative district in the state. The Oregon Home Builders Association represents 14 local home-builders' associations, with more than 3,200 members in every community in Oregon. ORLA represents over 3,000 members, and advocates for 10,500 foodservice locations and 2,200 lodging establishments in Oregon. And NFIB/Oregon represents 7,000 members in Oregon.

OSFP strongly opposed Senate Bill 488, which died on the Senate floor in the waning days of the 2013 session. That bill would have removed the 2015 sunset on the deeply flawed Oregon Low Carbon Fuel Standard, effectively implementing a program that has been floundering amid a sea of unanswered questions since 2009.

According to coalition advocates, already, proponents of an Oregon LCFS have been making the rounds touting non-existent successes in California and misrepresenting legal developments in that state's LCFS debate.

The United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made clear in its ruling on the California LCFS that only California was exempt from the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA) preemption of individual State fuel blends. Thus, Oregon's program is expressly preempted by the CAA as clearly stated by the Ninth Circuit.

Moreover, contrary to claims made by LCFS proponents, the Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals did not find the California LCFS program to be constitutional; rather, they remanded the case back down to the Federal District Court in California. This process could take 1-2 more years.

The California Air Resources Board has frozen California's LCFS at its 2013 levels through 2014, locking the program at a 1% reduction in carbon intensity. To put this into context, Oregon's existing Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), coupled with the federal government's existing RFS2, already yields a two to two-and-a-half-percent reduction in carbon intensity for fuels here in Oregon. That's what we mean when we say the proposed Oregon LCFS is redundant and unnecessary.

NFIB/Oregon, ORLA, OHBA and NGA now join Oregon's farmers, recyclers, loggers, truckers, small businesses, general contractors, fleet operators and fuel distributors, all who continue to strongly oppose an Oregon mandated LCFS while engaging in numerous required and voluntary efforts to reduce their emissions and their environmental impacts.

To learn more, please visit www.oregonfuelpolicy.com