Petroleum Opposes Biofuels RFS Remand: Petroleum Group Opposes Ag, Biofuels Lawsuit on 500 Million-Gallon Remand

Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Agency/Executive Branch, Federal Litigation, Federal Regulation, Marketing/Market Forces and Sales, Opinions, Policy

December 30, 2020

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by Todd Neeley (DTN Progressive Farmer) As biofuel producers attempt to force EPA to restore 500 million gallons that a court found were improperly waived from the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2016, a petroleum interest group is arguing those groups have no right to have the gallons remanded.

In 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled the EPA had illegally waived the gallons from the 2016 RFS renewable volume obligations and required the agency to restore them, which the EPA has not yet done.

A coalition of agriculture and biofuel groups asked a federal appeals court to order the EPA to restore those waived gallons.

The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers said in a motion filed with the court this week that the EPA should be allowed additional time to decide how to handle the court’s original order.

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The groups asked the court to require EPA to act within six months after a court order and to require obligated parties to show compliance within three months after EPA would issue a curative obligation.

“Given the myriad interests affected by EPA’s decision, the public interest would be better served through notice and comment rulemaking, whether through annual rulemaking or a separate proceeding,” AFPM said in its motion.

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AFPM suggested the EPA could decide to waive the 500 million gallons or spread the obligation across multiple years to “reduce burdens” on obligated parties and consumers.

In the July 2017 ruling in Americans for Clean Energy v. EPA, the court invalidated the EPA’s improper waiver of 500 million gallons in the 2016 RVO and ordered EPA to revisit the rule.

In its ruling, the court held EPA’s interpretation of an inadequate-domestic-supply waiver provision “runs contrary to how the Renewable Fuel Program is supposed to work.” So far, the EPA has not acted to restore 500 million gallons in lost renewable identification numbers, or RINs. READ MORE

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