This may or may not come as a surprise to you. The oil industry is happy the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not made any moves to reallocate waivers granted under the RFS. This same move has angered many Renewable Fuels groups.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) applauded the EPA decision to not reallocate the small refiner hardship waivers granted by Administrator Pruitt. This has allowed large refiners to claim hardships and not meet their blending requirements. These waivers have taken about two billion gallons out of the 15-billion-gallon mandate in the RFS. API says the RFS is an example of broken government programs.
This comes on the heels of a report showing that Pruitt granted these waivers, even after the Department of Energy said the refiners did not qualify. Iowa Renewable Fuels Executive Director Monte Shaw explains.
It may be a good thing the oil industry is happy with Pruitt, because farmers are not.
Many organizations and lawmakers have lost patience with Pruitt. The oil industry may need to be cautious. Their celebrations may be short-lived.
