The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday proposed biofuel volume requirements for next year, with the total renewable fuel volume set at 18.8 billion gallons.

This includes a requirement for 4 billion gallons of advanced biofuel, meaning 14.8 billion gallons remain for conventional renewable fuels like corn ethanol.

For comparison, the rule for 2016 calls for a total renewable fuel volume of 18.11 billion gallons, including 3.61 billion gallons of advanced biofuel.

The US Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) criticised the proposal and accused EPA of continuing to cater to the oil industry by illegally using its waiver authority to set lower volumes than the statutory targets.

"EPA can be given credit for two things—getting the proposal out in a timely fashion and at least coming within a mere 200 million gallons of the statutory level of 15 billion gallons for conventional biofuels," RFA president and chief executive Bob Dinneen still said. He added that the association would push for a more favourable final rule.

Congress' aim was most of the renewable fuel growth over time to come from advanced biofuels, with conventional volumes staying constant starting in 2015.