“Gap Year” Refinery Petition Denials a Good Start, But EPA Needs to Finish the Job
September 23, 2020 – While EPA’s recent announcement that it has denied 54 petitions for “gap year” small refinery exemptions under the RFS was indeed a big step forward, there is more work to be done to fully restore integrity to the RFS. There are 50 exemption petitions still awaiting a decision, and EPA still has not released the 2021 RVO proposal. Four associations representing farmers and ethanol producers—The Renewable Fuels Association, American Coalition for Ethanol, National Corn Growers Association and National Farmers Union—worked together and won a unanimous federal court decision in January that should have put an end to EPA’s abuse of the refinery exemption program. But eight months later, EPA still hasn’t adopted the court decision or communicated its intentions. On the heels of the gap-year petition denials, it’s time for EPA to implement this decision nationally and move quickly to decide outstanding waiver requests. In the conference call for news media, these coalition leaders provided an update on where things now stand—and what EPA must do to finish the job.
PRESENTERS INCLUDED:
- Geoff Cooper — President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association
- Kevin Ross — National Corn Growers Association
- Brian Jennings — CEO, American Coalition for Ethanol
- Anne Steckel — Biofuels Advisor, National Farmers Union
- Matthew W. Morrison — Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
LISTEN TO THE MEDIA TELECONFERENCE AUDIO BELOW
092320_RFA-ACE-NCGA-NFU_GapYearPetitionDenials-MTCCAudio_62m37s
