Growth Energy sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt condemning the decision to give a small refinery waiver to one of the largest refiners in the U.S. They are also demanding a moratorium on waivers being issued by the EPA.
Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says they want the EPA to immediately stop issuing waivers and end any considering any waiver applications in progress. “We want the agency to conduct a full, transparent public comment process to help assure all stakeholders that the new expansion of small refinery waivers is consistent with the goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard,” Skor says. “EPA appears to be operating under the cover of night to act as a judge, jury, and executioner to effectively reduce the overall demand for biofuels in this country absent any discourse.”
Growth Energy says the decisions appear to be timed so they don’t require any discourse in the yearly Renewable Fuels Obligation rulemaking process. That only adds to the impression that the EPA “is pressing its thumb on the scale to grow oil industry profits.” Skor says secret handouts undermine the administration’s commitment to renewable fuels and represent a real threat to hard-pressed American farmers.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.