News

RFA: “encouraged” by EPA’s move on 2018 SRE’s but agency didn’t go far enough

The head of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) says he’s encouraged by EPA’s decision to revisit small refinery exemptions granted in 2018.

But, Geoff Cooper tells Brownfield the agency stopped short of remanding and vacating the extensions. “That’s not what they asked for,” Cooper says. “The reason that’s important is because those 31 exemptions will remain in force as EPA is reevaluating them and what we would’ve preferred to see is that those 31 exemptions be  invalidated.”

He says EPA has the authority to decide if any extensions can still be granted. “Any objective analysis as they revisit the 31 exemptions we think is going to show, not all, but most were improperly granted.”

Cooper spoke with Brownfield at the 2021 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois.

Brownfield’s Will Robinson contributed to this story.