It’s June 1 and fuel retailers in the majority of the country who were selling 15% ethanol blends yesterday can’t today because of what President Trump calls “unnecessary and ridiculous” summertime E15 restrictions. With the deadline approaching yesterday, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig joined the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) in calling on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to use …
Ethanol Coalition Suing EPA Over Refinery Waivers
A coalition of farm and ethanol organizations has filed a lawsuit over the Environmental Protection Agency’s “secretive small refinery exemptions.” The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and National Farmers Union (NFU), with support of Farmers Union Enterprises, filed the suit late Tuesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th …
Waivers Continue as Officials Plan Biofuels Meeting
As officials with the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture were preparing for a meeting today on the Renewable Fuel Standard, reports surfaced that the nation’s second largest oil refiner has requested a “hardship waiver” for one of its facilities. Marathon Petroleum is in merger talks with Andeavor, one of the first large oil companies reported to …
ABFA Suing EPA Over Small Refinery Waivers
The Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA) has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt over the agency’s process of granting small refinery exemptions from compliance Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) obligations. “We have seen reports that the number of small refinery exemptions recently granted for compliance years 2016 and 2017 have doubled compared to previous years,” said …
Groups Urge EPA to Move on Pathway Approvals
As the Environmental Protection Agency has been approving small refinery exemption requests at a record pace, dozens of ethanol plants have been waiting for months to receive approvals for new pathways to produce cellulosic ethanol, including from corn kernel fiber. Five state biofuels organizations sent a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt this week asking him to “shift administrative time …
Senators Push President for E-15 RVP Waiver
With a growing number of “small refinery” exemptions being granted by EPA to not-so-small companies, a bipartisan group of senators is asking President Trump to allow 15% ethanol fuel (E-15) to be sold during the summer all over the country starting this year. In a letter to the president Monday, 18 ethanol state senators made two specific requests. First, they …
EPA Data Shows Waivers Have Lowered RFS Obligations
An analysis of EPA data by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) shows that small refinery exemptions for 2016 and 2017 have cost at least 1.6 billion gallons of biofuels in lost blending obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The volume of lost blending obligations for these two years is 10 times the collective volume of lost volume from 2013-2015. …
Ag Reporters Grill EPA Chief on RFS Issues
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt faced a grilling from agricultural reporters Tuesday about the agency granting waivers exempting refineries from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations and why it is taking so long to decide on allowing year round use of 15% ethanol in all markets. The embattled administrator, who faces Congressional hearings this week where he will likely be questioned on …
Senators Call on EPA to Stop Issuing RFS Waivers
A bipartisan group of senators led by Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) are asking EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to stop issuing so-called “hardship” waivers exempting obligated parties from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The 13 senators are also requesting that EPA provide “information about the waivers already issued, disclose whether or not the agency redistributed the waived volume …
Biodiesel Board Wants EPA Records
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to end the “secrecy” surrounding small refiner exemptions requested and issued under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to find out more. “The EPA’s decision to grant upwards of 25 exemptions, with at least one significant waiver in the …