The manager of the biodiesel refinery near Glenville spoke at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, calling on federal lawmakers to reinstate a tax incentive and restore the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Bryan Christjansen stood alongside U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken in making the request.

“The biodiesel industry supports tens of thousands of other jobs in the agriculture, transportation, and energy sectors as well,” Christjansen said. “Biodiesel has proven itself to be a successful homegrown, homemade fuel. If the administration chooses to go with the short-sighted EPA proposal, it does not just put domestic fuel production in jeopardy, it harms local economies and billions of dollars of investments.”

Christjansen, who resides in Owatonna, also manages the REG biodiesel plant in Mason City.

A survey by the National Biodiesel Board found that nearly 80 percent of American biodiesel producers have scaled back production this year and more than half have idled refineries altogether. Two-thirds have reduced or anticipate reducing their workforces, the survey found.

The biodiesel tax incentive expired Dec. 31, the third time in five years Congress allowed it to lapse. The Renewable Fuel Standard was put in place by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and quadrupled two years later by the Energy Independence and Security Act — both signed by President George W. Bush. The standard set annual increasing amounts of biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, to be blended into the nation’s fuel supply.

In November, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed lowering the requirement of 18.15 billion gallons for 2014 to about 15.21 billion gallons. In 2013, the requirement was 16.55 billion. Even though it is May, the standard for 2014 has not been set.

Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maria Cantwell of Washington and Joe Donnelly of Indiana joined Franken, Klobuchar and biodiesel advocates at the press conference in pushing for support of biofuels in the nation’s capital. Cantwell is the sponsor of a bill to extend a $1 per gallon tax credit for biodiesel producers through 2017.

Klobuchar called on Congress and the administration of President Barack Obama to bolster the Renewable Fuel Standard.

“We need to maintain a strong Renewable Fuel Standard that will support the production of fuels like biodiesel that help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create good jobs,” she said. “The administration needs to abandon its efforts to weaken the RFS and focus on creating a stable, predictable environment that will help our biodiesel producers create jobs and power our economy.”

Wayne Presby, owner of White Mountain Biodiesel in North Haverhill, N.H., discussed the growth of his business in recent years

“We made these investments because we believed in what the administration and Congress were trying to accomplish with the Renewable Fuel Standard and because a road map was laid out for growth under the RFS for the next decade, particularly in Advanced Biofuels,” he said.

He said uncertain policies make it hard for businesses to plan.

Christjansen described a $20 million upgrade at the Glenville refinery to allow it to produce biofuel from an array of waste products: cooking oil, animal fat, corn oil, in addition to soybean oil. He noted corn oil is a byproduct of ethanol production. He thanked Franken for attending the celebration of the upgrade last year.

“That upgrade project supported 70 to 80 construction jobs and score of manufacturing jobs. It makes the plant much more viable to run year-round and at a greater run rate, which we did last year,” he said.

Christjansen noted a similar upgrade is in the works for the Mason City plant. There are 28 employees at the Glenville plant and 24 at the Mason City one.

The survey of National Biodiesel Board members was conducted between April 14 and April 25. Fifty-four biodiesel producers from across the country participated. Other notable findings were:

• 78 percent have reduced production versus 2013.

• 57 percent have idled production altogether or shut down a plant this year.

• 66 percent have reduced workforce or anticipate reducing workforce.

• 85 percent have delayed or canceled expansion plans.