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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico Pro) A spokesperson for EPA said it will review the decision. — A federal appeals court Friday granted a request by two small refiners to halt their compliance obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard — signaling EPA’s decision to reject dozens of hardship exemption applications likely violated the
Federal Litigation
January 30, 2023
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(Inside EPA) A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is poised to hear oral argument in refiners’ lawsuit targeting EPA’s extended timetable for complying with renewable fuel standard (RFS) mandates, a measure ostensibly designed to help refiners that has nonetheless resulted in unachievable,
January 18, 2023
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(Biodiesel Magazine) … Recordkeeping challenges in renewable diesel aren’t new, but the struggle to balance the desire to incentivize production of low-carbon-intensity (low CI) fuels without harming collectors or tolerating fraud has come to a head. The following is what stakeholders need to know about the regulations. The collection and
January 6, 2023
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by David Iaconangelo (Politico Pro) If fully built, the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex would become one of the country’s first large facilities to capture and store carbon emissions from hydrogen production. — A federal court has slapped down a Louisiana ordinance that jeopardized a $4.5 billion hydrogen and carbon storage project,
January 5, 2023
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by Emily Skor (Growth Energy) … By any measure, 2022 was a banner year for biofuel advocates in Washington, D.C. We secured new funding for blending infrastructure, critical tax incentives for clean energy, a summer waiver for E15 sales, and a stronger Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Our industry also delivered
January 3, 2023
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by Jeff Beach (AgWeek) Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions wants to start construction in 2023 to benefit the ethanol industry, but some farmers have concerns about damage to farmland and property values. — South Dakota regulators say they may need to push back hearings on what could be the world’s largest carbon
December 30, 2022
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(United States Attorney’s Office District of Massachusetts) Defendant obtained more than $8.7 million in undue federal grant funding — An Acton man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with his role in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Treasury Department of more than $50 million in tax-free
December 8, 2022
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(Inside EPA) EPA’s revised timeline for complying with renewable fuel standard (RFS) biofuel blending mandates is “dystopian,” according to refiners who are suing to scrap a compliance extension that they say led to an unmanageable pile-up of multiple deadlines as the agency seeks to compensate for its own implementation delays.
November 29, 2022
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(Inside EPA) A coalition of small refiners is sketching out its legal arguments against EPA’s blanket policy of denying all petitions from smaller refineries for economic hardship waivers from the renewable fuel standard (RFS), as many refiners seek to overturn the agency’s mass denials of their waiver applications earlier this
November 22, 2022
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by David Iaconangelo (E&E News) The developer of a $4.5 billion hydrogen project in Louisiana is in a legal battle with local lawmakers in a case that analysts say could preview conflicts around the country. Air Products and Chemicals Inc., the developer, announced a year ago that it would build its
November 18, 2022
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by Donnelle Eller (Des Moines Register) An Ames company that wants to build a $4.5 billion carbon capture pipeline across Iowa has filed lawsuits against Story and Shelby counties over new ordinances that would require increased distances between the project and homes, churches and schools. Summit Carbon Solutions filed the suit this week
November 18, 2022
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) ADM, Plaintiffs Want Economist Appointed to Judge Accuracy of Ethanol Markets Model — Both sides in an ethanol markets lawsuit have agreed to hire an expert to judge the credibility of an expert witness who developed an economic model plaintiffs purport to show Archer Daniels
November 15, 2022
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(GrainNet) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Growth Energy agreed under their consent decree to delay by two weeks the issuance of the proposed 2023 Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). EPA is now required to propose the biofuel requirements by no later than November
November 4, 2022
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) GAO Report: EPA Unable to Prove Small Refiners Pass RFS Costs to Consumers — Not all small refineries are able to pass costs to comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard on to consumers at the pump, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report
November 4, 2022
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) The major biofuels interest groups and National Farmers Union are trying to intervene in a lawsuit challenging EPA’s recent decision to reject 69 pending applications for small-refinery exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard, according to a motion filed with a federal appeals court on Tuesday.
November 3, 2022
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(Inside EPA) Refiners are filing suit against EPA’s “alternative” schedule for small refineries to turn in credits for renewable fuel standard (RFS) compliance, in litigation that will likely allege the extended schedule merely further complicates an already delayed and complex situation that occurred because of EPA’s failure to issue RFS
November 2, 2022
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) Agriculture, fuel interests and several states see EPA’s March 2022 decision to reinstate California’s legal authority to implement a zero-emissions vehicle sales mandate and greenhouse gas emissions standards as a back-door way to move the entire country away from gasoline-powered vehicles. Several state-level agriculture interest
October 28, 2022
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(Inside EPA) Liquid fuels interests challenging EPA’s reinstated approval of California’s vehicle greenhouse gas rules are focusing their legal attacks on claims that the move improperly addresses issues of “vast significance” without clear Clean Air Act (CAA) authority, teeing up a “major questions” argument after the Supreme Court’s elevation of
October 26, 2022
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EPA Abused Discretion by Denying Suncor Colorado Refineries Exemption from Clean Air Law, Court Says
by Michael Karlik (The Gazette) The federal appeals court based in Denver has overturned a 2019 decision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that refused to grant Suncor Energy’s Commerce City Refinery an exemption to a key environmental law. Although the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit cautioned the
October 18, 2022
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by Scott Richman (Renewable Fuels Association) Following an April 12 announcement by President Biden, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a series of emergency waivers allowing E15 (gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol) to be sold during the 2022 summer driving season. Without this action, E15 could not have been used in most
October 18, 2022
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico Pro) The Center for Biological Diversity called on a federal appeals court Tuesday to vacate EPA’s final rule setting renewable fuel volumes for 2020, 2021 and 2022, arguing the agency failed to comply with the Endangered Species Act. “The EPA is blatantly ignoring how the renewable fuel
September 28, 2022
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by Jasmin Melvin (S&P Global) E15 solution for Midwest states coming: Regan; Biofuel group pushes for nationwide action; Lays out industry priorities for next RFS rulemaking — A promise by US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan to lift a summertime ban on sales of a gasoline blend containing 15% ethanol in certain
September 14, 2022
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(Clean Fuels Alliance America) Following discussions with Clean Fuels members, EPA hopes to resolve dispute without litigation — Today (September 8, 2022), Clean Fuels Alliance America and the U.S. Department of Justice filed a joint motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit concerning Clean Fuels Alliance America
September 14, 2022
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by Doug Durante (Biofuels Digest/Clean Fuels Development Coalition) … EPA was finalizing their proposed rule to reduce fine particulates. To their credit, they had announced early on that they intended to complete their NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) by August and it is at the Office of Management and Budget for
September 5, 2022
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by Todd Neeley (DTN ProgressiveFarmer) EPA has 29 days to decide whether to grant or deny a petition calling for the regulation of pesticide-treated seeds, after a federal court on Wednesday approved a consent decree between the agency and the Center for Food Safety and the Pesticide Action Network North America.
September 2, 2022
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(Society of Environmental Journalists) “In a first, the measure legally defines greenhouse gases as pollution. That’ll make new regulations much tougher to challenge in court.” “When the Supreme Court restricted the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency to fight climate change this year, the reason it gave was that Congress had
August 24, 2022
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(Inside EPA) Small refiners suing EPA over its modified compliance regime for the renewable fuel standard (RFS) say the agency has unlawfully and “extremely” compressed the timetable for them to supply EPA with compliance credits under the guise of a compliance deadline “extension” rule, asking a federal court to scrap
August 24, 2022
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by Todd Neeley (DNT Progressive Farmer) Refining Companies Line Up to Challenge Biden Administration on Denial of RFS Exemptions — Though the ethanol industry has celebrated the Biden administration’s rejection of all pending small-refinery exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard, legal challenges to that action are beginning to pile up after
August 17, 2022
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(Inside EPA) Refiners have filed a fresh wave of lawsuits against EPA over its denial en masse of their requests for economic hardship waivers from compliance with renewable fuel standard (RFS) biofuel blending mandates, following an earlier series of suits filed by many of the same firms over EPA’s April retroactive denial
August 12, 2022
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by Madison Hirneisen (The Center Square) New oil and gas leasing in central California will be prohibited until the U.S. Bureau of Land Management conducts a more thorough review of the impact of drilling in the region under a settlement agreement announced Monday. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a federal moratorium on
August 2, 2022
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(Inside EPA) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has granted EPA’s request to transfer a refiner’s lawsuit challenging the agency’s denial of a renewable fuel standard (RFS) compliance waiver to the D.C. Circuit, in what may be one of many such actions by regional courts as EPA
July 27, 2022
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(Growth Energy) Growth Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted a consent decree agreement to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that requires EPA to propose the 2023 renewable fuel volume requirements no later than November 16, 2022, and to finalize those requirements no later than
July 26, 2022
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(Center for Biological Diversity) The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s fuel volume requirements for corn ethanol and other biofuels for 2020, 2021 and 2022. Earlier this month the EPA set the 2022 required minimum volume for
July 21, 2022
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA has indicated it will release proposed rules related to the 2023 Renewable Fuel Standard renewable volume obligation (RVO) and state requests to allow summer E15 sales within the next several months. The agency will also soon finalize pending canola oil fuel pathways
July 15, 2022
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by Sara Schonhardt (Politico Pro Climatewire) Experts predict climate litigation will continue to rise over the next year, with a focus on “filling the gaps” of corporate and government policies. — Lawsuits are increasingly targeting governments and companies for climate inaction or greenwashing, posing a rising threat to fossil fuel
July 15, 2022
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) Federal Judge Dismisses Ethanol Lawsuit Against Archer Daniels Midland — A federal court in Illinois dismissed one of three ethanol market lawsuits against Archer Daniels Midland this week, outlining in an order that six ethanol companies in Iowa and Wisconsin were unable to prove antitrust
July 15, 2022
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(Inside EPA) EPA is fighting a push from biodiesel makers to split their case challenging EPA’s recordkeeping rules for biofuel made from food waste from wider litigation over the 2020 renewable fuel standard (RFS), as the biodiesel sector seeks to avoid a lengthy further abeyance resulting from EPA’s June decisions
July 8, 2022
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by Rachel Frazen (The Hill) The Supreme Court’s Thursday decision curtailing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority could hamper regulations far beyond climate. The conservative majority in the 6-3 ruling found that an Obama-era power plant rule was not permissible since it didn’t have “clear congressional authorization.” But legal experts say this principle could
July 1, 2022
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(Growth Energy) Growth Energy filed petitions for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to excuse certain refineries from their obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In a decision announced this April, EPA reversed 31 small refinery exemptions
June 29, 2022
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by David Shepardson (Reuters) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to propose new, more stringent vehicle emissions rules through at least the 2030 model year by March, according to a regulatory update released on Tuesday. In December, the EPA finalized new light-duty tailpipe emissions requirements through the 2026 model year that reversed then-President
June 22, 2022
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA has indicated it will release proposed rules related to the 2023 Renewable Fuel Standard renewable volume obligation (RVO) and state requests to allow summer E15 sales within the next several months. The agency will also soon finalize pending canola oil fuel pathways
June 22, 2022
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(TruckingInfo.com) The Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association has sued the California Air Resources Board, saying the agency has not provided enough lead time for truck and engine makers to meet its latest emission standards due to go into effect in 2024. On Dec. 22, 2021, CARB adopted the Heavy-Duty Engine and
June 9, 2022
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by Robert White (Renewable Fuels Association) … In case you’ve forgotten, refiners use the term “blend wall” to refer to what they view as the upper limit of feasible ethanol use in the United States, which they peg at 10 percent of the nation’s gasoline supply. This purported blend wall is
June 9, 2022
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by Rachel Frazin (The Hill) A group of five automakers is backing California’s authority to set its own standards for climate-warming emissions for vehicles amid a legal challenge from several Republican-led states. Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, Honda and Volvo on Tuesday backed the Biden administration’s decision to restore this authority to California after the Trump administration revoked
June 8, 2022
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(Growth Energy) Following settlement discussions with Growth Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to file a notice in the Federal Register on Monday seeking comment on a proposed judicial consent decree that would require EPA to propose the 2023 Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) by no later than September 16, 2022
May 23, 2022
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(NACS) Regulators “should encourage innovation to meet environmental performance goals,” NACS says. — NACS on May 13 filed a petition in federal court in Washington, D.C., to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s grant of a waiver that would allow California to impose a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate and related limits on
May 17, 2022
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by Zack Budryk (The Hill) Seventeen Republican state attorneys general on Friday announced a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for allowing California to set its own vehicle emissions standards. The lawsuit alleges EPA Administrator Michael Regan violated the Constitution’s doctrine of equal sovereignty by allowing California an exemption from the Clean
May 16, 2022
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(Inside EPA) Refiners are suing EPA in different federal appellate courts over the agency’s novel retroactive denial of 36 waivers from renewable fuel standard (RFS) biofuel blending obligations for 2018, signaling a venue fight with EPA that may set a precedent for other possible litigation. Louisiana refiner Calumet Shreveport Refining
May 10, 2022
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by Leo Wolfson (Cowboy State Daily) One of Wyoming’s three oil refineries is among 36 nationally to have its request to be exempted from biofuel blending rules refused. Documents filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals showed the Sinclair Refinery near Rawlins applied with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for an
May 2, 2022
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(Growth Energy) The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today (April 25, 2022) approved a consent decree agreement between Growth Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that requires EPA to finalize its 2020-2022 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) by no later than June 3rd. The consent decree follows
April 27, 2022
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) Bayer: Nebraska Ethanol Plant Mishandled Treated Seed, Violated Agreement — A federal judge in Nebraska on Monday consolidated all lawsuits filed by seven seed companies against Mead, Nebraska, closed ethanol plant owner AltEn LLC. The lawsuits allege AltEn’s owner abandoned the 25-million-gallon ethanol plant site
April 20, 2022
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by Larry Lee (Brownfield Ag News) The legal action by the biofuels industry against the EPA over Small Refinery Waivers and biofuel blending obligations continue. Geoff Cooper with the Renewable Fuels Association tells Brownfield that additional court briefs were filed Thursday. He says the new EPA administrator has taken steps to
April 11, 2022
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by Spencer Chase (Agri-Pulse) The Biden administration is fielding a steady stream of requests for emergency action to allow for summertime sales of E15, but those calls are coming up against the realities of the fuel supply chain as demonstrated by the actions of a pro-biofuel company. In various outreach
March 30, 2022
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) With the start of the summer driving season fast approaching and year-round E15 sales no longer an option, EPA’s Rod Snyder said on Thursday the agency continues to work to restore those sales. Snyder, who is the ag adviser to EPA Administrator Michael Regan and
March 25, 2022
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(Ohio Soybean Association/Highland County Press) At a time of growing consensus on the need for greater reliance on domestic fuel sources, the Ohio Soybean Association (OSA) joined other state soybean associations in support of a petition to include biofuels in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) vehicle standards. OSA filed
March 21, 2022
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by Anne C. Mulkern (E&E News) EPA today officially restored California’s ability to set its own rules for vehicle tailpipe emissions and to require automakers to sell an increasing number of clean cars. The Biden administration granted the nation’s most populous state a waiver under the Clean Air Act, allowing California
March 10, 2022
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Representatives of the biofuels industry on Feb. 28 filed two separate petitions in with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit challenging a final rule issued by the U.S. EPA in December setting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for model year (MY) 2023-2026 passenger cars and
March 8, 2022
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by Paul Hammel (Nebraska Examiner/Omaha Daily Record) … Last week, six seed corn companies that have been cleaning up the AtlEn ethanol plant site near Mead, Nebraska, filed two separate federal lawsuits seeking repayment for their work. One lawsuit alleges that AltEn, its owner Tanner Shaw, manager Scott Tingelhoff and other
March 2, 2022
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by Joel Rosenblatt (Bloomberg) Renewable fuel producers join Valero unit in court challenge; EPA rule governs release of carbon dioxide from car tailpipes — The gasoline industry and alternative fuel makers, frequent foes, put aside their differences for court challenges to a Biden administration rule imposing limits on automobile greenhouse-gas emissions.
March 1, 2022
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by Clark Mindock (Law360) A Texas-led group of states is slamming the Biden administration’s push to strengthen greenhouse gas standards for auto emissions, telling the D.C. Circuit on Monday it must intervene and stop a purported federal war on fossil fuels. The 14-state coalition headed by Lone Star State Attorney General Ken
March 1, 2022
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by Michael H. Levin (BioCycle Magazine) EPA’s “proposed adjudication” of 65 pending small-refiner exemption requests could deny virtually all such requests — now and in the future. — … In June 2021, the Supreme Court (reviewing a Tenth Circuit decision) ruled that EPA lacked “clear authority” under the RFS Program to
February 23, 2022
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(Growth Energy) Following settlement discussions with Growth Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will file a notice in the Federal Register tomorrow seeking comment on a proposed judicial consent decree that would require EPA to finalize the 2021 and 2022 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs), which are the subject of a pending rulemaking,
February 23, 2022
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) Geoff Cooper, head of the Renewable Fuels Association, said Tuesday that the trade group heard from EPA that it’s aiming to propose a rule for the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard by late spring or early summer. Under legislation from 2007, Congress set
February 23, 2022
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by Brendan Cole (Newsweek) The administration of President Joe Biden faces an escalating battle over fossil fuel production in the U.S. after the American Petroleum Institute (API) said it would challenge a January court decision to annul a massive sale of oil and gas leases. The API move against the invalidation of November’s
February 11, 2022
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association today expressed strong support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to deny 65 pending small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions, noting that such an action would “restore confidence” in the Renewable Fuel Standard program. EPA’s proposal also would ensure that, moving forward, the SRE program complies with the
February 8, 2022
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by Stephanie Kelly (Reuters) The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away an industry group’s bid to revive a decision made by the Environmental Protection Agency under former President Donald Trump to allow expanded sales of gasoline that has a higher ethanol blend, called E15. The action by the justices dealt
January 10, 2022
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Produce Magazine) The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to consider whether it will review a July 2, 2021, decision handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that vacated a U.S. EPA rule allowing year-round E15 sales during its Jan. 7 conference. The
December 30, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA released updated small refinery exemption (SRE) data on Dec. 16, reporting that two additional SRE petitions have been filed under the Renewable Fuel Standard for compliance year 2021. A total of 67 SRE petitions are now pending, up from 65 in November.
December 17, 2021
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(Environmental Protection Agency) On December 7, 2021, EPA proposed to deny more than 60 pending small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions from small refineries seeking exemption from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for one or more compliance years between 2016 and 2021. The proposed decision results from EPA’s review of the
December 10, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) EPA doesn’t want the Supreme Court to wade into the ongoing fight over the year-round sale of 15-percent ethanol blends in gasoline. The agency submitted a brief to the high court this week in the aftermath of a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that vacated
December 10, 2021
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(Inside EPA) A federal appeals court has granted EPA’s request for remand without vacatur of dozens of Trump-era approvals of renewable fuel standard (RFS) compliance waivers for small refiners, opening a path for EPA to scrap them, only a day after the agency proposed to deny all remaining requests for
December 9, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Department of Justice on Dec. 8 filed a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a writ of certiorari filed by Growth Energy seeking the review of a lower court’s decision that vacated a U.S. EPA rule allowing year-round sales of E15.
December 9, 2021
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(Growth Energy) Today (December 7, 2021), Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor offered a mixed review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rulemaking regarding domestic biofuels blending requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The agency’s proposed Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) would undercut blending requirements for renewable, low-carbon biofuel in 2021, and would retroactively
December 8, 2021
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(RFD TV) Speculation is growing about what’s going on behind the scenes at the EPA as they continue to extend their own deadline for biofuel blending mandates. “I think part of it is because they are focusing on electric vehicles, and they seem really intent on going down the path
November 23, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association today thanked a bipartisan group of seven Midwestern governors for their efforts to explore what actions can be taken to allow the year-round sale of E15 in their states. In a letter sent to EPA Administrator Michael Regan today, the governors seek guidance from the agency
November 4, 2021
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(Growth Energy) Today (November 2, 2021), Growth Energy submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a notice of intent to sue regarding its failure to timely fulfill the agency’s statutory obligation under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to issue the 2022 Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) and in turn, the potentially multi-year
November 3, 2021
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by Adam Liptak (New York Times/Governors’ Biofuels Coalition) The case, brought by Republican-led states and coal companies, could frustrate the Biden administration’s efforts to address climate change. The court’s decision to take the case came after a federal appeals court struck down the Trump administration’s plan to relax restrictions on
November 1, 2021
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(Law Street) On Tuesday, Green Plains Inc. and its subsidiaries filed a complaint in the District of Nebraska against Archer Daniels Midland Company alleging it had manipulated the derivative contracts market and violated the Commodities Exchange Act. … The complaint states Archer Daniels Midland Company is a major producer and seller
October 30, 2021
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by Will Englund (Washington Post) … Seventy-four times last year, the wind across Upstate New York dropped so low that for stretches of eight hours or more barely any electricity was produced. Nearly half the year, the main transmission line feeding the metropolitan area was at full capacity, so that
October 13, 2021
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by Jacqui Fatka (Farm Progress) Growth Energy files petition to take fight of whether E15 legal to U.S. Supreme Court. –Ethanol and corn producers continue to claim 15% ethanol fuel is safe for year-round use. However, courts have overturned a waiver of limits on Reid Vapor Pressure. In its last legal
October 5, 2021
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by Anna Simet (Ethanol Producer Magazine) … While “accelerate” was the theme of the American Coalition for Ethanol’s 34th annual conference—market growth being vital—the myriad policy, investment and operational issues explored at the event orbited largely around the industry’s overarching low-carbon ambitions. And with the rise of electric vehicles (EVs)
September 25, 2021
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(National Biodiesel Board) U.S. Court of International Trade upholds Commerce final determination in changed circumstances review — The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) today welcomed the U.S. Court of International Trade’s decision to uphold the U.S. Department of Commerce’s final determination in its changed circumstances review (CCR) of duties on imports of Argentine biodiesel.
September 23, 2021
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(Common Dreams/Center for Biological Diversity) Coalition blasts EPA delays on replacing do-nothing Trump rule. —One hundred environmental, community and public-health groups called on the Biden administration today to set strong standards to cut airplane pollution and avoid industry-promoted biofuel greenwashing. As today’s letter notes, the Biden administration has yet to announce any efforts to
September 23, 2021
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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday denied a petition for rehearing regarding the recent American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, et al. vs. EPA decision, in which the court vacated a 2019 regulation allowing year-round sales of a fifteen percent ethanol fuel blend (E15). Petitioners the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy
September 10, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) Last night, the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers Association, National Biodiesel Board, American Coalition for Ethanol, and National Farmers Union opposed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) motion to remand but not vacate the 31 small refinery exemptions (SREs) the Trump Administration granted in August 2019. The
September 8, 2021
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(Inside EPA) EPA is asking a federal appeals court to voluntarily remand Trump-era decisions that granted 31 small refinery waivers from renewable fuel standard (RFS) compliance and denied a smaller number of waiver requests, opening the door for the Biden administration to overhaul the agency’s waiver policies in light of
August 30, 2021
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by Jeff Barber (OPIS) After four years of the Trump administration’s often-chaotic approach to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), many in the biofuels industry were hoping President Joe Biden would bring a level of stability and support to the program. While the new administration has provided renewable fuel producers with some
August 26, 2021
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(Inside EPA) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has accepted EPA’s request to further delay litigation against the agency’s renewable fuel standard (RFS) for 2020 while the agency decides whether to reconsider the rule in the light of a recent high court ruling, rejecting biofuels
August 26, 2021
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) Two of four antitrust lawsuits filed against Archer Daniels Midland, alleging ethanol market manipulation, were dismissed by a federal court in Illinois. The remaining two cases are on track for trial in 2024. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois in Urbana
August 25, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA published updated small refinery exemption (SRE) data on Aug. 19, reporting that there are currently 59 SRE petitions pending under the Renewable Fuel Standard, down from 64 that were pending as of mid-July. The data shows EPA has not acted on any
August 20, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the National Corn Growers Association filed a petition for rehearing with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the recent American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, et al. vs. EPA decision, in which the court vacated a 2019 regulation allowing year-round sales of a fifteen percent
August 17, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The recent D.C. Circuit Court decision overturning EPA’s approval of year-round E15 sales could have a strongly negative impact on the rural economy and environment in the coming years unless action is taken to allow unimpeded sales of E15 all year long, the Renewable Fuels Association reported in a new analysis
August 5, 2021
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by Sarah Main and Shailesh Sahay (Foley Hoag) … On July 16, 2021, the D.C. Circuit issued a decision that resolved several challenges to its 2019 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) rulemaking. … Renewable fuel producers challenged the volume requirements set in the 2019 RVOs as too low; petroleum groups challenged the 2019
August 3, 2021
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(Growth Energy) Today marks the four-year anniversary of the July 2017 ruling in Americans for Clean Energy v. EPA. The 2017 ruling required EPA to address its improper waiver of 500 million gallons for 2016 renewable fuel blending requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). To date, EPA has failed to reconsider the 2016 RVO and
July 30, 2021
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(Biomass Power Association/Biomass Magazine) The Biomass Power Association on July 17 expressed concern over a D.C. Circuit decision allowing the Environmental Protection Agency to delay crediting cellulosic fuel in a challenge to the agency’s 2019 Renewable Volume Obligation rule. The case is Growth Energy v. EPA, No. 19-1023. The RFS Power
July 21, 2021
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) The Renewable Fuels Association is planning to petition the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for a rehearing of an E15 case that could jeopardize the year-round sale of the 15% ethanol blend of gasoline starting next year. The RFA may be
July 21, 2021
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(Office of Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE)) … The Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, which I reintroduced with Sen. Amy Klobuchar in response to the ruling, offers a common-sense solution to this problem. Our bill would reinstate the waiver that allowed high-ethanol blends like E15 to be sold all year.
July 20, 2021
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday denied a biofuels group’s challenge to EPA’s inaction on restoring 4.3 billion gallons to the Renewable Fuel Standard lost to small-refinery exemptions between 2016 and 2018. The court, however, sent back the
July 19, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association today welcomed the D.C. Circuit Court’s outright rejection of arguments from oil refiners that the Renewable Fuel Standard causes them economic hardship and therefore the Environmental Protection Agency should have waived their 2019 RFS obligations. The court’s rebuke of the refiners’ arguments was part
July 19, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA released updated small refinery exemption (SRE) data on July 15, reporting that six SRE petitions have been withdrawn in the past month. There are now 64 SRE petitions pending, down from 70 in June. One SRE petition was withdrawn for each of the
July 16, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) Low-carbon ethanol’s “brightest and sunniest days remain ahead” despite recent judicial setbacks and a growing policy push on electric vehicles, RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper said in keynote remarks today at the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo. Even after two recent disappointing court decisions, “The ethanol
July 15, 2021
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(Office of U.S. Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN 2nd) Craig and Smith’s Legislation has been endorsed by Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association and the National Corn Growers Association — Today, U.S. Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN) and Adrian Smith (R-NE) led Co-Chairs of the Congressional Biofuels Caucus in introducing the Year-Round Fuel Choice
July 14, 2021
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by D’Arce McMillan (Western Producer) … Aside from weather and crop conditions, grain market traders are also keeping an eye on the debate playing out in the U.S. capitol over renewable biofuel blending regulations. The oil industry, refinery workers and some state governments do not like the blending requirements. They were
July 12, 2021
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(AgWeek) Coming up on AgweekTV, we will discuss the ethanol industry hitting another devastating court decision. We will tour an award winning regenerative farming operation in east central South Dakota. We will visit two ag businesses that are dedicated to staying in rural North Dakota. We will discuss the number
July 12, 2021
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) The nixing of EPA’s E15 rule that allowed year-round sales has in many respects taken the ethanol industry back to square one. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last week tossed out the Trump administration’s rule that had been widely celebrated
July 9, 2021
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(National Association of Farm Bureaus/NewsDakota.com) Last week’s D.C. federal court ruling does not mean retailers must stop selling 15-percent ethanol-blended gas immediately. The court ruling was another setback for the ethanol industry, discouraging future blending pump investments if it sticks, and coming on the heels of a Supreme Court ruling also unfavorable
July 8, 2021
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by Chuck Abbott (Successful Farming) Despite losing two high-profile cases in seven days, the ethanol industry says the future is bright for the corn-based biofuel that it promotes as a low-carbon alternative to gasoline and a tool to slow global warming. “We view both decisions as only temporary setbacks but neither
July 7, 2021
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) 2021 so far is better than 2020 in many aspects – like a summer sunflower, things are looking up and opening up again in some parts of the world as vaccines are rolled out, especially in Canada, the UK, Israel, Italy, Germany, and the U.S.
July 6, 2021
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(Growth Energy) The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a 2019 rule by the Environmental Protection Agency that lifted outdated restrictions on the sale of a fifteen percent ethanol fuel blend (E15). The case, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, et al. vs. EPA, was a challenge by oil refiners to the rulemaking
July 2, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) A draft report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is pinning disinformation and lobbying campaigns — including by Exxon Mobil — as major culprits in slowing governments from adopting climate measures to mitigate global warming. Zack and POLITICO Europe’s Karl Mathiesen reviewed the report, which
July 2, 2021
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by Chuck Abbott (Successful Farming) … Farm and ethanol groups said they were confident the EPA will approve few exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard, but they urged the agency on Monday to state how it will run the program in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court ruling on waivers.
June 30, 2021
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by Andrew Chung and Stephanie Kelly (Reuters/Yahoo!) The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday bolstered a bid by small oil refineries to win exemptions from a federal law requiring increasing levels of ethanol and other renewable fuels to be blended into their products, a major setback for biofuel producers. The 6-3
June 25, 2021
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by James Osborne (Houston Chronicle) … The decision by a Louisiana federal judge Wednesday requiring the Department of Interior to end its pause on oil and gas leasing came as the administration’s plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on electric vehicle charging stations and tax credits was looking
June 18, 2021
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(National Biodiesel Board/Biodiesel Magazine) While welcoming federal support for domestic SAF on par with support for biodiesel and renewable diesel, the NBB wants Congress and the Biden Administration to understand how all three fuels support the nation’s climate and clean air priorities. The Biden administration delivered some positive news to
June 17, 2021
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by Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Kim Chipman (Bloomberg/Yahoo!) The Biden administration is developing targets for biofuel that are likely to be relatively flat or even lower as it seeks to balance the interests of blue-collar refining workers and advance a clean-energy agenda. The Environmental Protection Agency is set to propose renewable
June 16, 2021
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by Timothy Puko (Wall Street Journal) Defense of ventures has helped Biden’s relationships with some Western lawmakers — Biden administration lawyers are defending oil and mining projects approved under the Trump administration, benefiting ConocoPhillips , Rio Tinto PLC, BHP Group Ltd. and others at the expense of environmental and tribal groups
June 2, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Following last week’s decision by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate and remand three small refinery exemptions granted by EPA to Sinclair Oil Corp. on the eve of President Biden’s inauguration, the Renewable Fuels Association on Monday asked both the Tenth and D.C. Circuit
May 26, 2021
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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) With a trial possibly years away in an ongoing ethanol market manipulation case, plaintiffs are waging a fight for the disclosure of information from Archer Daniels Midland, according to court documents. Four cases have been combined in the U.S. District Court for the Central District
May 25, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. EPA on May 20 published updated small refinery exemption (SRE) data, reporting that two additional SRE petitions have been filed for Renewable Fuel Standard compliance year 2020. The agency also changed the status of three previously filed SRE petitions. There are now 70
May 21, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association today hailed an order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacating three small refinery exemptions granted by EPA to Sinclair the day before President Joe Biden was inaugurated. The court’s decision came promptly after EPA petitioned for the vacatur and remand of
May 20, 2021
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by Stephanie Kelly (Reuters/NASDAQ) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed a motion on Friday to vacate three waivers given by the previous administration to Sinclair Oil Corporation refineries that exempt them from biofuel blending mandates. In the motion, the EPA said that the agency under the Trump administration did not analyze
May 5, 2021
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by Emily Hammond (SCOTUSBlog) On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining, LLC v. Renewable Fuels Association. The case presents an issue of statutory interpretation involving the Renewable Fuel Standard program — a part of the Clean Air Act that calls for incorporating renewable fuels into transportation
April 27, 2021
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(TOM/Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network/KIWA Radio) Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley recently said he’s encouraged the Environmental Protection Agency is siding with the ethanol industry in a case that goes before the Supreme Court later this month. The industry and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals say the EPA can only grant ethanol
April 20, 2021
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(Urban Air Institute) A three-judge-panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not go far enough when it extended the 1 pound RVP waiver to allow year-round E15. The Urban Air Initiative (UAI), along with a broad
April 14, 2021
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(Renewable Fuels Association) Today, the D.C. Circuit Court will hear oral arguments in American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, et al. vs. EPA, a case in which oil refiners challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2019 rulemaking that paved the way for the year-round sale of E15. As intervenors in the case, the Renewable
April 13, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York has sided with the Biden administration in a lovers’ quarrel with green groups, blue states and Tesla over the Trump administration’s delay of a fuel economy penalty increase. A late-Trump rule (Reg.
April 7, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) Despite procedural objections from states and environmentalists, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday granted the Biden administration’s request to pause litigation over federal auto emissions and fuel economy standards. That will give the agencies time to rewrite the SAFE Vehicles rule that
April 5, 2021
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by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Advanced Biofuels Association, Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas, the National Biodiesel Board and a group of eight states on March 31 filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court urging the court to affirm the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals’ January 2020 ruling
April 1, 2021
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by Larry Lee (Brownfield Ag News) An ethanol court case over Small Refinery Exemptions will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court April 27th. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says he is confident the Supreme Court will review the case and affirm the 10th Circuit Court decision in their favor,
March 16, 2021
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by Matthew Choi (Politico’s Morning Energy) … On April 27 the court will hear refiners’ appeal of the 10th Circuit’s ruling that severely limited EPA’s ability to exempt small refiners from biofuels blending requirements. (EPA recently shifted to support the 10th Circuit’s decision and is waiting to act on 46
March 15, 2021
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(Clean Fuels Development Coalition) The Clean Fuels Development Coalition called the pending revision of the nation’s fuel economy rules one of the most immediate and tangible actions the Biden Administration can take to address a range of issues impacting climate, health, and economic challenges. In a letter congratulating incoming Environmental Protection
March 12, 2021
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by Maxine Joselow (E&E News) In 2006, a federal judge issued a scathing ruling that would reverberate across the country. “Over the course of more than 50 years, Defendants lied, misrepresented and deceived the American public,” Judge Gladys Kessler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in a
March 10, 2021
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(Bernstein Liebhard/Globe Newswire) Bernstein Liebhard, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, announces that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (“Renewable Energy ” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: REGI) from May 3, 2018, through
March 4, 2021
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by Rachel Frazin (The Hill) An increasing number of states are looking to follow the precedent set by California and adopt stricter vehicle emissions standards as the Biden administration appears poised to green light those efforts. The Virginia legislature this past week passed legislation to toughen its emission rules, and similar
March 1, 2021
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(GreenAir Online) US aircraft and engine manufacturers have called on the new Biden administration to provide sustained government support to help achieve its climate goals. In an open letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, Climate Envoy John Kerry and National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, the US Aerospace
February 26, 2021
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by Tyne Morgan (Ag Web) Renewable Fuels groups are celebrating an EPA win. More than a year after the 10th Circuit Court issued its initial ruling on the small-refinery provisions within the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), EPA announced Monday it’s supporting the court’s ruling. As a result, there will be tighter
February 22, 2021
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by Zach Coleman (Politico’s Morning Energy) Even if Biden’s regulations fall short of environmentalists’ wishes, the U.S. is poised for success reducing greenhouse gas emissions given the trajectory of “market forces” in the power and utility sectors, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Tom Carper (D-Del.) tells Pro’s Anthony
February 18, 2021
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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy)Conservation groups on Wednesday sued over the federal government’s approval of the 102-mile, $500 million Cardinal-Hickory Creek high-voltage transmission line that would carry electricity from renewables from Iowa to Wisconsin. The suit argues that the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service’s environmental study didn’t properly consider
February 12, 2021
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(Office of Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)) U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) led a letter to Acting Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Jane Nishida highlighting the need to restore integrity to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by reviewing small refinery waivers, swiftly issuing a proposed rule
February 4, 2021
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by David Shepardson (Reuters/Yahoo!Finance) Toyota Motor Corp, Fiat Chrysler and other major automakers said on Tuesday they were joining General Motors in abandoning support for former President Donald Trump’s effort to bar California from setting its own zero emission vehicle rules. The automakers, which also included Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Mitsubishi
February 3, 2021
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(Growth Energy) On Friday, January 29th, Growth Energy, along with others in the biofuels industry, filed an opening brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Case No. 20-1046) challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) failure to properly establish 2020 biofuel blending targets under the Renewable Fuel
February 3, 2021
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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is directing the Environmental Protection Agency to submit a status report every 60 days “on its progress in complying with the court’s remand” stemming from the July 2017 ruling in a case regarding the improper waiver of 500
January 28, 2021
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by Jinjoo Lee (Wall Street Journal) In the tug of war for former President Donald Trump’s favors, oil refiners won some surprising victories over ethanol producers. Their fortunes are about to flip under President Joe Biden’s climate-driven administration. The fate of U.S. oil refiners and ethanol are inextricably linked through the
January 28, 2021
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by Stephanie Kelly (Reuters) Sinclair Oil Corporation confirmed on Tuesday it secured biofuel blending waivers for its refineries from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shortly before the departure of the administration of President Donald Trump last week. The company made the statement in a court filing defending the waivers against a
January 26, 2021
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Ag Policy Blog: Carbon Pipelines Projects Face Permit Hearings, Litigation and Legislation
by Chris Clayton (DTN Progressive Farmer) 2023 will shape up as a major year in the permitting and development of carbon pipelines across the Midwest and Plains states. The Minnesota and South Dakota Public Utilities Commissions each this week will examine the permits of major carbon pipeline projects. The Minnesota PUC is