Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt says there needs to be reform of the Renewable Identification Numbers System or RINs. Those are the credits refiners must purchase to prove they’re in compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard. Renewable Fuels Association Senior Vice President Geoff Cooper says the EPA Chief is responding to complaints coming from the oil industry.
He says RINs are serving their intended purpose and were initially implemented at the request of the oil companies.
EPA Administrator Pruitt says his comments about RINs system reform aren’t about getting rid of the RFS requirement, but instead deal with the accounting mechanism that ensures a certain percentage of the fuel contains ethanol. Cooper says there’s no reason to reform RINs right now because they are working.
Cooper says several studies, even those put forward by the oil industry, have shown that refiners recoup the cost of RINs through higher wholesale gasoline prices.
