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Ag and biofuel groups defend EPA decision in court over small refinery exemptions

Several biofuel and farm organizations are defending the EPA in court over small refinery exemptions.

Troy Bredenkamp with the Renewable Fuels Association says RFA, Growth Energy, the American Coalition for Ethanol, and National Farmers Union have filed a motion to intervene in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of EPA’s summer decision to deny nearly 70 small refinery exemption requests.

“So we’re finding ourselves back in court, we’re finding ourselves needing to defend the decision made by the EPA that was based on a court decision from the Tenth Circuit that we had won two years ago.”

He tells Brownfield getting refiners to adhere to the law is an ongoing battle that could go all the way to the Supreme Court.

“We don’t know whether these refineries will take it to that level. They certainly can, it’s certainly within their rights to petition. And then we would hope that the Supreme Court would not take up that petition. That would end this particular round.”

Bredenkamp says the D.C. Court could render a decision by the end of the year.