Ethanol and Farm Groups Sue EPA Over RFS Waivers

On May 29, a coalition of ethanol and farm groups filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over waivers that have been granted to small refineries that have allowed them to bypass their Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements on blending biofuels. The groups filed the lawsuit over three specific waivers that were granted by the small refiner waiver provision, including waivers for CVR Refining in Oklahoma, HollyFrontier in Wyoming and Woods Cross in Utah.

The coalition of groups, including the Renewable Fuels Association, National Corn Growers Association, American Coalition for Ethanol and National Farmers Union, filed the challenge in a U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver. Under the RFS, refiners are required to blend increasing volumes of biofuels including ethanol each year. However, the EPA can offer exemptions for facilities under 75,000 barrels per day, if they experience “disproportionate economic hardship.”

These challenges come right as EPA continues to find ways to reduce refiners’ RFS compliance costs. This week, the EPA decided to give HollyFrontier nearly $34 million worth of credits for this year to reverse a denial for a waiver for one of its Wyoming plants dating back to 2015 and undisclosed millions more to Sinclair for two of its facilities in the same state for 2014 and 2015, according to a Reuters report. Click here to read the article.