The Environmental Protection Agency has posted 52 new small refinery waiver requests from the Renewable Fuel Standard. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says the requests are a blatant attempt to go back nine years and end up undermining the 10th Circuit Court decision that directed the EPA not to issue waivers in a willy nilly fashion.
He says it’s critical that court orders are complied with and the EPA or any agency isn’t allowed to just ignore those rulings.
Cooper says if these requests are granted for 52 exemptions, there will be more severe damage to the ethanol industry as well as the RFS.
He says the 52 are just added to 27 other waiver requests that are already under consideration by the EPA for 2019 and 2020. Cooper says their next step is to seek further court oversight over this issue and make sure the RFS is properly followed.
The 10th Circuit Court back in January ruled the EPA illegally granted exemptions to three small refineries and that they weren’t eligible because they’ve never received them.
