Ethanol Blog

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Forty-two members of Congress including the entire Texas delegation are pressing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to draw back on proposed volumes in the latest Renewable Fuel Standard rule and on plans to reallocate biofuels gallons waived through small-refinery exemptions, in a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Tuesday.

The letter comes on the heels of legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah; John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; and Bill Cassidy, R-La., on the same day that would not allow the agency to reallocate gallons exempted for 63 small refiners as well as partial exemptions granted to 77 refiners, to larger refining companies.

The EPA has sent a reallocation proposal to the Office of Management and Budget for review.

In the letter to Zeldin, the lawmakers commend the Trump administration for taking steps to expand energy production.

"U.S. refineries are critical to achieving President Trump's goals to restore American energy dominance, as a strong and competitive liquid fuel manufacturing industry is vital to maintaining low gasoline and energy prices while limiting inflation," the letter said.

"To maintain the viability of the liquid fuel manufacturing industry and keep energy costs low for American consumers and businesses, it is critical the EPA modifies its June 2025 proposed rule on renewable volume obligations established under the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2026 and 2027. When finalizing this rule, we urge you to consider the impact the refining sector has on the American economy, ensure the rulemaking maintains stability in the domestic fuels market and sustain a strong and competitive industry that is vital to our nation's energy security."

The members of Congress asked Zeldin to consider "minimizing RVO increases to avoid a large and expansive regulatory mandate" on the refining industry.

"Overall, the liquid fuel manufacturing industry has made significant investments and spent billions of dollars to comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard since its inception in 2005," the letter said.

"A significant increase in RVO obligations would place an unsustainable burden on refineries and significantly increase costs on U.S. consumers and businesses. Additionally, we urge that small-refinery exemptions do not reallocate regulatory burdens on larger refiners. SREs are essential to helping small refineries manage the regulatory costs of the RFS program, but it is critical these obligations are not transferred to other refineries."

The lawmakers said reallocating gallons exempted would "place an undue burden on companies that have invested billions of dollars to legally comply with the program and create significant disruptions" in the fuel market.

"Finally, we recommend the EPA maintain a 100% renewable identification number (RINs) value for imported renewable fuels and feedstocks," the letter said.

"Domestic producers rely on global supply chains for cost-effective feedstocks and imports are critical to the viability of the domestic refinery industry. If the RIN value for foreign feedstocks is reduced, domestic fuel manufacturers will be at a competitive disadvantage compared to foreign producers, hampering President Trump's strategy to unleash American energy."

Read more on DTN:

"Bill Stops RFS Waiver Reallocation Plan," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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