EPA refinery biofuel waiver program on hold pending review - sources
Source: Reuters
ENVIRONMENT NOVEMBER 28, 2018 / 7:05 AM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
Exclusive: EPA refinery biofuel waiver program on hold pending review - sources
Humeyra Pamuk, Jarrett Renshaw
5 MIN READ
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Trump Administration has temporarily frozen a program meant to exempt small oil refineries in financial distress from the U.S. biofuels law, as it reviews the scoring system to evaluate applications, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The review means changes are likely to the program, which has become a lightning rod of controversy between the rival oil and corn industries since the Environmental Protection Agency vastly increased the number of waivers for last year.
Under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, oil refiners must increasingly blend biofuels like corn-based ethanol into their fuel each year or purchase blending credits from those that do. The regulation was passed in 2005 to help farmers and cut fuel imports.
But small oil refineries can be exempted from the standard if they prove that compliance would cause disproportionate hardship. The EPA granted 29 such waivers for the 2017 compliance year, up from 14 in 2015 and 20 in 2016.
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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biofuels-waivers-exclusive/exclusive-epa-refinery-biofuel-waiver-program-on-hold-pending-review-sources-idUSKCN1NX1D9