The Environmental Protection Agency held a virtual hearing Wednesday to hear comments on the proposed reallocation plan announced last month to restore renewable fuel volumes lost to recent small refinery exemptions.
Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper testified that, while they continue to disagree with EPA granting the exemptions in the first place, they believe the agency must fully account for the renewable fuel obligations those exemptions eliminate. “RFA strongly supports EPA’s proposal to reallocate 100 percent of the additional 770 million RINs exempted beyond the volume anticipated in the Set 2 rule,” said Cooper. “Without full reallocation, the RINs freed up by these exemptions can be carried forward to satisfy future obligations, displacing demand for newly produced renewable fuels, and eroding the historic 2026 and 2027 standards established by this administration.”
Cooper urged EPA to finalize the rule as soon as possible. “At a time when gasoline and diesel supplies are tightening, refiners are enjoying strong profit margins, and Americans are still paying too much at the pump, we should be encouraging greater use of affordable, American-made renewable fuels. Full reallocation is essential to protecting the economic and consumer benefits the RFS was designed to deliver,” said Cooper.
American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Brian Jennings also testified in support for the reallocation plan which he says will also “support the statutory purpose of the RFS to increase blending year-over-year and help drive demand for E15 and E85.”
Jennings also stressed the financial hardships farmers are facing. “Let’s be clear. It is not hardship for refiners, who are posting record profit margins, to blend low-cost renewable fuel into their expensive petroleum products,” Jennings stated. “By contrast, American farmers have struggled to make ends meet for the last five years and are experiencing hardship. Until this reallocation is final and complete, exempted RVOs represent an economic drain on U.S. farmers.”
Clean Fuels Alliance America sent VP of Federal Affairs Kurt Kovarik, Regulatory Affairs Director Kate Shenk, and Governing Board Chair Kent Engelbrecht to testify at the hearing. “We strongly support EPA’s proposal to reallocate the gallons equally to 2026 and 2027 volume obligations. We ask the agency to finalize this supplemental rule as soon as possible – certainly by the end of the year – to ensure that the robust volumes for 2026 and 2027 are not eroded by small refinery exemptions, past or future,” said Kovarik. “U.S. companies throughout the biodiesel, renewable diesel, and SAF supply chain have announced new investments in capacity since earlier this year, based on the robust RFS volumes.”