The petroleum industry has filed a legal challenge over the expanded Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2), which was just finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Both the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) filed the lawsuit Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia challenging the EPA rule, officially published in the Federal Register on Friday.
Both organizations issued similar statements regarding the legal action, which focus on the retroactive provisions of the rule. “We believe this rule unlawful and unfair, and we filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to challenge the legality of EPA’s actions,” said the API statement. “EPA made the rule effective on July 1, 2010 while setting unreasonable mandates on refiners that reach back to 2009 for bio-based diesel and to January 1 for the other advanced biofuels.”
“The petition NPRA filed today does not challenge the overall RFS2 program and does not call into question the important role renewable fuels play in our nation’s transportation fuel mix,” NPRA President Charles T. Drevna said. “Simply put, the fact that EPA failed to meet its statutory obligations under current energy law does not give the Agency license to impose retroactively additional compliance burdens on obligated parties. At the least, such action calls into serious question the fundamental fairness of EPA’s RFS2 rulemaking process.”
0 responses to “Petroleum Industry Files Suit Over Renewable Fuel Standard”
Couldn’t agree more. While I support renewable fuels fully, this is definitely a backhanded maneuver by EPA. Good on API and NPRA for standing up and not allowing bureaucrats to run roughshod over their industry simply because the agency finds it unsavory.
I don’t work in the petroleum fuels industry so I don’t have a dog in this hunt. However, I support the suit fully because I am so fed up with the federal government’s growing dictatorial attitude. I predict the average American will rise up and have their voice heard this election cycle. It is past time to PUSH BACK!
Be careful for what you ask for, if it wasn’t for the Federal Government the Oil Industry would squash the ethanol industry like a bug.
On the flip side, one could consider that the “retroactive” aspect of RFS2 is equal to a 0% interest loan to the Oil companies to be able to sell more of their controlled products at a higher price than if more alternative fuels had been sold, and RFS2 just asks for the loan principal to be repaid. Fuel has been considered a national security issue, which must be why the Oil companies feel it is fine for the U.S. military to provide protection to the oil fields and shipping lanes. If fuel is a national security issue, then replacing as much oil with alternative fuels is just as much valid as protecting oil sources.
And yes, that U.S. military protection is at the cost of all U.S. taxpayers. Those in favor of less taxes, or at least taxes that involve fiscal responsibility, should be in favor of supporting alternative fuels when they go to the polls in November. It is just as dictatorial to support the U.S. military being used to supply less expensive oil to U.S. consumers, at taxpayer expense, as it is to control a fuel industry considered by many to be a national security issue. Many dictatorships use their military to obtain economic resources. I’m not saying there are not plenty of other good reasons for U.S. military actions; just that oil protection is one of the primary factors.
One of the big reasons the EPA is so messed up is, the EPA has been “Out Sourced”. When you try to do any business with the EPA, you rarely speak to a “government bureaucrat”. You talk to a “Subcontractor”. In order to make the EPA more efficient, many of its basic functions (CDX – RINS – Biodiesel certification) have been out sourced to private contractors. The professionals that used to work there are gone.
These contractors are each in their own little world. They don’t care about any other parts. They are answerable to no one. Don’t bother calling your Congressman, they can’t help.
Call the EPA some time to ask a question. The response you get is “I know nothing. Check the Website.”