Don’t pay the fine and file a federal lawsuit. Dare the fedgov to shut them down. The time has come to take the fedgov to the woodshed, much like the stupid EPA lawsuit about a citizen wanting to build on his property, but the EPA claiming it COULD be a wetland. Sue them into oblivion. Of course, that will only give the Executive branch more reason to hire more lawyers and other bureaucrats.
The USDA is instrumental behind the push for cellulosic biofuels. Years ago in an effort to prove “relevance” and worthy of increased funding it began lobbying to be in the forefront of this effort.
Cellulosic ethanol programs in the USDA have had dramatic (taxpayer) funding increases, with NOTHING to show for them.
Its been a dirty little secret that the ability to convert cellulose to ethanol is light years from being economically feasible. No matter. New taxes are collected every year to keep the keep the money flowing.