A coalition representing farmers and ethanol producers responded to last week’s decision of the Fifth Circuit Court on Small Refinery Exemptions under the Renewable Fuels Standard. The Court remanded to the Environmental Protection Agency its rejection of six small refinery exemption requests. The coalition that includes the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, the American Coalition for Ethanol, and the National Farmers Union says they are disappointed by the decision and will continue to defend the Renewable Fuel Standard. “We will continue fighting the illegal abuse of small refinery exemptions,” the groups said in a statement. “As other federal courts have determined, the RFS does not impose an economic burden on oil refiners because any compliance costs are passed down the supply chain.” The groups also say the refiners’ lawsuit wasn’t about economic hardship but more about oil refineries doing everything they could to dodge legal obligations to blend renewable fuels.
