Gov. Nathan Deal joined other governors by sending a petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requesting it to waive the requirements that a certain percentage of the nation’s energy come from renewable fuel sources.

Currently the main source of renewable fuel is corn. The EPA has the authority to waive the government-mandated renewable fuel requirements through the Renewable Fuel Standard.

The state’s largest component to the $68.9 billion agriculture industry is poultry, which uses corn as the main ingredient in chicken feed. Every year, more corn is diverted from the food chain and put into making energy.

In a year that is going to experience significant crop losses due to drought, the poultry industry needs all the assistance it can receive in order to keep poultry as a reasonably priced agricultural commodity.

In his letter, Deal said, “Georgia is experiencing severe economic harm during this crisis, and important economic sectors in the state are in serious economic jeopardy. This harm is precisely of the type, character and extent that Congress envisioned when it granted EPA authority to waive Renewable Fuel Standard applicable volumes.”

Deal’s petition notes the University of Georgia has reported that the state’s poultry producers are spending $1.4 million extra per day on corn due to the drought and the upward pressure on corn prices caused by the demand created by the RFS for ethanol. This translates to more than $516 million per year if these market conditions continue.

“These additional input costs are not sustainable, and I urge you to consider all options available to the agency to provide some relief in the coming year,” Deal said.

The poultry industry in Georgia provides 98,000 jobs that are directly or indirectly tied to it. Nationwide, Georgia is No. 1 in broiler production and is third in the number of eggs produced.

The effects of an industry slowdown would be felt the most in the Northeast Georgia region. Eight of the top 10 poultry-producing counties for the state are in the region.

The National Chicken Council voiced strong support for Deal’s petition and leadership on this critical issue.

“I am very pleased that Gov. Deal has joined the many other voices and requests that (the) EPA has received in recent weeks to waive the RFS for ethanol, including 14 of 15 members of Georgia’s congressional delegation in Washington,” said NCC President Mike Brown.

“As Gov. Deal noted, it is now abundantly clear that severe economic damage has occurred, and will continue, as a result of the RFS strain on the corn supply that has been exacerbated by the worst drought in more than 50 years. Again, I call on EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to implement the law and grant a full, one-year waiver for the corn-ethanol mandate.”

Deal’s petition comes on the heels of an Aug. 20 announcement that the EPA is issuing a federal register notice opening a 30-day public comment period on requests from the governors of Arkansas and North Carolina to waive the RFS requirements. The statute provides the agency with 90 days to make a decision.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 updated renewable fuel volume targets. Congress has also given the EPA the authority to include provisions that allow the EPA administrator to grant a full or partial waiver if implementation would severely harm the economy or environment of a state, region or the entire country.

Michael Wheeler is county extension coordinator for the UGA Cooperative Extension in Hall County. You can contact him at 770-535-8293, www.hallcounty.org/extension. His column appears biweekly on Thursday’s Business page and at gainesvilletimes.com.