RFA: Oil-State Senators Ask EPA to Violate the Law, Ignore the Courts

October 22, 2020

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(Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association today blasted the latest attempt by oil refiners and their supporters in the Senate to undermine the Renewable Fuel Standard. On Wednesday, a small group of oil-state Senators submitted a short letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler asking him to waive the 2021 RFS standards to prevent increased use of renewable fuels and “account for the unprecedented collapse in demand for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.” (Note: Jet fuel is not subject to renewable fuel blending requirements under the RFS.)

Responding to the letter, RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper stated, “It looks like the focus of the oil industry’s RFS avoidance strategy is shifting from ‘small-refinery waivers’ to ‘all-refinery waivers.’ But this letter from a handful of refinery-state Senators comes nowhere close to satisfying the high standard required to grant a general waiver of the RFS volumes—and EPA knows that. By asking Administrator Wheeler to undercut the 2021 RFS standards to avoid the so-called ‘blend wall,’ these Senators are unashamedly encouraging EPA to ignore clear-cut court decisions and established case law.”

In 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that EPA had illegally abused its general waiver authority by attempting to lower 2014-2016 RFS volume requirements below the so-called “E10 blend wall,” despite ample availability of renewable fuels to meet the statutory volumes. The court found that the statute “…does not allow EPA to consider…demand-side constraints” when deciding general waiver requests. Yet, that is exactly what the oil-state Senator letter recommends, Cooper said.

The statute also requires petitioners to conclusively demonstrate that compliance with the RFS would cause “severe harm” to the economy of a state, region, or the country, Cooper added. “This flimsy letter makes no such demonstration,” Cooper said. “Instead, the Senators cite COVID-19 as the source of the economic challenges facing the refining sector. But the financial hardship caused by COVID-19 is not unique to the refining sector; the ethanol industry and farmers were hit even harder by the pandemic and are still struggling to recover. All Americans are still hurting from the impacts of COVID-19, but the refiners are opportunistically using the pandemic as an excuse to pursue their long-term objective of tearing down the RFS.”

Producers of renewable fuel have already lost more than 4 billion gallons of RFS requirements in the past three years due to illegally granted small refinery exemptions, and EPA still has not complied with the D.C. Circuit Court’s 2017 order to restore 500 million gallons of illegally waived volume from 2016.

“Enough is enough. EPA should immediately reject this attempt to further undermine the RFS with unjustifiable and unlawful waivers,” Cooper said. “The Senators’ letter should go straight to EPA’s dumpster, which is already littered with other baseless waiver petitions and ridiculous RFS complaints from oil state politicians and refiners.” READ MORE

Senators Seek RFS Freeze: In Close Election, GOP Senators' Request to EPA Undermines Colleague in Tight Race (DTN Progressive Farmer)

Republican senators ask EPA not to boost refinery biofuel obligations in 2021 (Reuters)

The Oil Lobby’s COVID-19 Wish List: The American Petroleum Institute sent Trump’s Interior Department a lengthy list of demands in March to help it weather the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. (Huffington Post)

Exxon denies Trump called CEO for money. But Big Oil is donating way more to Trump than Biden (CNN)

Sens. Cruz, Capito and Colleagues Send Letter to EPA Opposing Ethanol Mandate Expansion (Office of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX))

10 senators ask EPA to waive 2021 RFS (Farm Progress)

RFA PRESIDENT CRITICAL OF PROPOSED ETHANOL WAIVER FOR ALL REFINERS (Brownfield Ag News)

Oil state senators ask EPA to undermine the RFS (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

Oil State Senators Ask EPA to Drop 2021 RFS (Energy.AgWired.com)

API Supports Senators’ Call To Protect Consumers From Expanded Biofuel Blending Requirements (American Petroleum Institute)

Excerpt from DTN Progressive Farmer: EPA should have released a proposal for the 2021 RVO by now, but EPA has delayed that decision and it likely now will not come until after the Nov. 3 election.

The senators also implied boosting ethanol use in 2021 would risk damage to vehicles and infrastructure by keeping ethanol blends below 10%. This runs counter to the year-round 15% ethanol blend approved by the Trump administration and an executive order from President Donald Trump allowing states to blend 15% ethanol in standard fuel pumps.

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Meanwhile, Trump campaigned in Iowa last week where he is in a close race against former Vice President Joe Biden. In Des Moines, Trump said he had delivered on ethanol, adding no president had helped farmers as much as he has done. "I saved ethanol. Ethanol is saved," Trump said, adding that he ensured ethanol could be sold without requiring blender pumps. "You know, we went through the whole thing where we had no demand because of the pandemic. And we fought hard to keep it going and to keep ethanol going," Trump said at the Des Moines rally.

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Here is a link to senators' letter to EPA: https://www.capito.senate.gov/… READ MORE