Monday February 25, 2013 is Low Carbon Fuel Standard Lobby Day in the State Capitol. The proposed Low Carbon Fuel Standard in Oregon sounds simple, but is extremely complex. It is modeled on a similar program in California—a program that was recently ruled unconstitutional in a United States District Court.
In 2009, the Oregon Legislature passed legislation authorizing the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to develop a Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulating Oregon’s entire fuel supply. The purpose of this law is to reduce the average amount of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions per unit of fuel energy by a minimum of ten percent below the 2010 levels over a ten year period. This law included a provision to “sunset” the LCFS if DEQ was unable to develop a workable program. Proponents supporting the implementation of a statewide LCFS have introduced in the 2013 session Senate Bill 488 that would lift the 2015 sunset and allow this unworkable program to be implemented. Fuel industry experts are predicting increased gasoline and diesel costs and a loss of Oregon jobs if the LCFS is implemented. AGC (along with most industry and business groups in Oregon) opposes the implementation of the LCFS in Oregon.
To send letters and emails to your legislators and have our industry views heard, please click here.
For more information on the impact of this regulation and the effect on Oregon’s economy, please contact AGC Government Affairs Director John Rakowitz, 503-317-1781.