Farmers and ethanol producers are disappointed in last week’s ruling against EPA’s rejection of refinery waiver requests.

A coalition of groups including the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, American Coalition for Ethanol and National Farmers Union reacted to the decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals remanding to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency its rejection of six small refinery exemption requests.

“While we are disappointed by this decision, we will continue to vigilantly defend the Renewable Fuel Standard and fight against the illegal abuse of small refinery exemptions. As other Federal courts have determined, the RFS does not impose an economic burden on oil refiners because any compliance costs are passed down the supply chain. All refiners—regardless of their size or location—face equitable RFS obligations, and all of them pass through their costs to comply. This lawsuit was never really about purported economic hardship; rather, it was about a handful of entrenched oil refineries doing everything they can to dodge their legal obligations to blend renewable fuels and block consumer access to lower-cost, lower-carbon options at the pump.”