WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD News) — The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is criticizing some of the small refinery exemptions granted by the EPA this week.
RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper said some refiners that received exemptions did not need them.
“We think that is nonsense. There is no rationale. There’s no justification for giving those exemptions to those refiners when we all know that the refining sector today is making record profit margins. They’re making more money than they ever have in history, so to argue to EPA that they somehow are experiencing hardship and need to be let out of their ethanol and biodiesel blending obligations just doesn’t pass the sniff test.”
The EPA granted 29 full or partial exemptions totaling 1.76 billion biofuel credits, far more than the 990 million initially expected.
The agency says it will add the difference back into future blending requirements, which could help protect demand for biodiesel and soybean oil.
