The mayor of Philadelphia delivered a “Declaration of Energy Independence” today to recognize the city’s and region’s contributions to domestic energy and energy security. At the same time Reuters broke a story claiming that Philadelphia oil refinery connections were the main forces behind the Obama administration proposal to lower volume requirements for biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) this year.

Mayor Michael Nutter’s declaration proclamation was made at the request of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and Novozymes, marking the start of BIO’s World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology.

According to the article, it was The Carlyle Group and Delta Air Lines, owners of two refineries in the Philadelphia area, that put the pressure on the administration to cut back on biofuels requirements by convincing policymakers that “the rising mandates would cripple their businesses and threaten thousands of jobs.”

The article claims that two Pennsylvania congressman were called on to take the refiners’ concerns about the RFS to the White House, and that in July and August of last year, “17 refiners and their allies visited the White House’s rulemaking arm, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to discuss the RFS. Only six biofuel supporters visited the OMB over the same time.” Reuters even produced a graphic to illustrate the comparison between visits by oil and ethanol lobbying interests last year.

Read the story here.