The governors of Louisiana and Alabama are petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency for a waiver from the Renewable Fuel Standard.

In a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin yesterday, Governors Jeff Landry and Kay Ivey requested a partial waiver for 2027, calling it “targeted, prospective and temporary” and saying it “would not prevent ethanol from continuing to be blended wherever the economics support it.”

In a post on X, Gov. Landry called on fellow governors of Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas to join them in petitioning for a waiver of the RFS claiming “Americans are paying more for gas and diesel because of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).”

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) reacted to the petition saying that “blaming the RFS for high fuel prices is misguided and ignores the important role renewable fuels play in expanding U.S. fuel supplies, strengthening energy security and providing consumers with more affordable choices at the pump.”

“With all due respect to the governors, during this time of high fuel prices, the last thing you want to do is reduce supply,” said IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw. “The real solution is to unleash additional U.S. supply, which Congress can do by removing barriers to year-round E15 sales. Ethanol lowers fuels prices because it is less expensive than gasoline and adds gallons to the market. Expanding the use of low-cost ethanol, made right here in America, would lower prices at the pump. Consumers need real solutions, not ineffective political potshots.”

The American Soybean Association warns that granting the petition would “strike a major blow to domestic U.S. soybean markets and rural economies more broadly,” arguing that national average costs of biofuel blends are lower than conventional petroleum fuels.