The Renewable Fuels Association expressed gratitude today to seven Republican members of the Senate who called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to back down from rumored small refinery exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard.
“Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have clearly and forcefully spoken out against last-minute efforts to inflict rural America with more exemptions from Big Oil’s renewable volume obligations,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “We appreciate our Senate champions and look forward to working with them to reverse the course of the refinery waiver program that has been so harmful to farmers, ethanol producers and heartland communities.”
“Ethanol and biodiesel plants that are already struggling to cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic are at risk of closing their doors, cutting off key markets for farmers,” the senators wrote. “Many biofuel plants have already been forced to shutter their doors over the past four years. Eliminating more demand for biofuels at this time may be the death knell for many more.”
The letter was signed by Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Josh Hawley (R-MO). The week also saw letters from their Democratic colleagues in the Senate and from the House Biofuels Caucus.
