WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a nationwide extension of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals January 2020 ruling placing limits on which refineries may receive small refinery waivers under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). This decision comes after Senator Klobuchar advocated for the application of the ruling nationwide.
“Today’s announcement that the EPA will expand limitations on small refinery waivers is a big win for many of our nation’s farmers and rural communities,” said Klobuchar. “The Renewable Fuel Standard is designed to drive economic opportunity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and this action — which I urged the new administration to take — will begin to restore integrity to this policy that has been undermined for the past four years.”
Under the Tenth Circuit ruling, the EPA may only issue small refinery exemptions (SREs) to refineries that show that the RFS itself caused disproportionate economic hardship and have continuously received extensions of exemptions since the “blanket exemption” ended in 2012.
Klobuchar has repeatedly called for the protection and extension of the Tenth Circuit ruling:
- This month, Klobuchar led a letter to EPA Acting Administrator Jane Nishida highlighting the need to bring regulatory certainty to the transportation fuels sector of the economy and restore integrity to the RFS.
- In June of 2020, Klobuchar led a letter to former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler urging him to reject petitions for SREs under the RFS for past compliance years.
- In March of 2020, Klobuchar wrote a letter to President Trump reiterating support for the RFS and expressing concern that the EPA would consider appealing the Tenth Circuit ruling.
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