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RFA: Pruitt granting RFS waivers subjectively, maybe illegally

Renewable Fuels Association CEO Bob Dinneen says hardship waivers of Renewable Volume Obligations granted by the EPA run counter to what President Trump has promised in the Renewable Fuel Standard. “I think it has been done cynically after the RVOs were finalized or the RFS obligations were finalized and so there’s no opportunity to reallocate those gallons. And, I think some of them may very well be illegal because there are very specific limitations in terms of through-put.”

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt says the waivers are granted objectively as a matter of statute, but Dinneen tells Brownfield Ag News the determination of a hardship is done SUBJECTIVELY, “EPA used to look at that and used to actually refineries to demonstrate that there’s a unique hardship to them from this program. That’s no longer being done.”

Dinneen says Pruitt’s actions are helping oil refiners at the expense of struggling farmers, telling Brownfield, “He’s backing the wrong people here.”
He says Pruitt needs to “listen to the boss”, meaning President Trump, who has said the RFS should be at 15 billion gallons.