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Democrat senators urge EPA to stop waiver “abuse”

Democrat senators are urging the EPA to stop awarding small refinery waivers to big oil companies.

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown joined Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Minnesota Senator Tina Smith, and Senate colleagues to send a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler this week.

“We’re calling on the EPA to stop the abuse of these waivers,” Brown says. “The waivers that the president gave to the oil refineries directly harm rural economies and farmers.”

Brown says the waivers are negatively impacting communities across the Midwest with 13 ethanol and eight biodiesel plants idling or shutting down.

The administration has said an ethanol-related package will be announced soon, but Brown says there is a bigger problem (waivers) that needs to be addressed.

“I just don’t understand why the president would make a decision to help Exxon and some of the big oil companies at the expense of corn growers,” he says.

The senators are urging the EPA to reallocate the remaining gallons and to make the waiver process more transparent.