In Washington, D.C., biofuel and farm groups filed a lawsuit to review waivers granted to oil refineries in Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming exempting them from the US renewable fuel mandate. The lawsuit was filed by the Renewable Fuels Association, American Coalition for Ethanol, National Corn Growers Association and National Farmers Union.
According to Platts, the groups contend that the Environmental Protection Agency’s accelerated use of hardship waivers to the Renewable Fuel Standard has eroded biofuel blending by as much as 1.6 billion gallons over the past two years. Ethanol Renewable Identification Numbers have plunged 63% since the start of the year amid an ongoing debate in Washington over reforming the biofuel mandate. S&P Global Platts assessed D6 ethanol RINs for 2018 compliance at 25.75 cents/RIN Tuesday, down from 30.75 cents/RIN a week earlier.
The lawsuit filed in the US 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver challenges EPA’s granting of waivers to CVR Refining subsidiary Wynnewood Refining’s Wynnewood, Oklahoma, plant and to two HollyFrontier refineries in Woods Cross, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyoming.