White House Hopes to Win Back Ethanol’s Trust

The White House hopes to win back the ethanol industry’s trust after approving 31 new refinery waivers.

Reuters cites two sources who say President Donald Trump held a two-hour meeting this week with members of his Cabinet. There were no specific decisions but reversing the 2018 waivers was shot down. Sources say officials from the Department Of Energy & Agriculture and the EPA attended the meeting. The White House declined to comment.

Ethanol companies blame the new waivers for production cutbacks Poet says it will idle a 92-million-gallon plant in Cloverdale, Indiana. Marquis Energy will cut production rates at a plant in Wisconsin. Last week, biofuel supplier, World Energy, announced similar moves at facilities in Georgia, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania. Poet Officials call the waivers “bailouts to oil companies” and says the EPA has “robbed rural America”.