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Coalition asks Court to force EPA’s hand on waivers

A coalition has taken the next step to force the EPA to account for biofuel volumes lost to small refinery exemptions.

Renewable Fuels Association CEO Geoff Cooper tells Brownfield a group of ag and biofuel groups has petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to lift a stay on litigation filed more than a year ago.

“Basically we were asking EPA to revisit how it was handling small refinery exemptions as it calculates its annual RFS requirements.”

He says the Renewable Fuels Standard requires EPA to redistribute exempted biofuel volumes.

“Thirteen months later, we’ve received no response from EPA.”

Cooper says with more than a dozen ethanol plants idling production in the last year, the coalition had no choice but to ask the court to force EPA’s hand.

The coalition includes RFA, the American Coalition for Ethanol, Growth Energy, National Biodiesel Board, National Corn Growers Association, and National Farmers Union.