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EPA Drops Biofuel Quotas for Small Refineries
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has waived a federal mandate for 25 small refiners that requires operators to blend 10% ethanol and other biofuels into their fuel.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has waived a federal mandate for 25 small refiners that requires operators to blend 10% ethanol and other biofuels into their fuel, sources tell Bloomberg News.
The 2007 law originally granted automatic annual exemptions to 59 refiners, none of whom processed more than 75,000 barrels of crude per day in 2009. More recently EPA has reviewed applications on an individual basis from 38 refineries that continue to qualify.
The waivers are intended to spare small refineries undue financial strain. But proponents of the quota—notably farm states that supply corn for ethanol production—complain that granting so many waivers undermines the intent of the law. They also say the cuts undermine the Trump administration’s vow to continue biofuel quotas.
Bloomberg notes that when a refinery is exempted, its quota is not distributed to larger refineries. Thus the waivers shrink the overall market for renewable fuels.
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