RFA slams Texas governor for requesting RFS waiver

December 4, 2017 |

In Washington, in a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on Friday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) asked the agency to waive Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for his state to no more than 9.7% for the conventional biofuel requirement, suggesting the RFS threatens to severely harm the state’s economy. In response, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen had the following statement:

“Gov. Abbott’s waiver request doesn’t come anywhere close to meeting the very high threshold required by the statute for proving ‘severe harm.’ The truth is, the RFS is helping—not harming—the Texas economy by offering greater consumer choice, lower cost fuels, and thousands of jobs in ethanol production and agriculture. While Texas is always labeled as a big oil and gas state, the RFS has supported a burgeoning renewable fuels industry in the Lone Star state as well. Not only is the state home to four large ethanol plants, it is also home to 199 stations offering E85 and other flex fuels, dozens of stations selling E15, and one of the largest populations of flex fuel vehicles in the nation. Gov. Abbott’s waiver request ignores this critical Texas industry and would undermine the significant economic benefits it offers each and every day.

“In any case, EPA’s threshold for action specifically notes that an impact on any particular industry would not trigger a waiver. Rather, the agency will look at the impact on the economy as a whole and with ethanol today being less expensive than gasoline, and providing consumers significant savings at the pump, that is a threshold that simply is not met today.

“The waiver request also overlooks a number of important realities regarding RIN credits and the gasoline market. Just two weeks ago, an analysis from Wells Fargo corroborated studies from Harvard University, MIT, the University of Michigan, Iowa State University, and other institutions showing that merchant refiners recoup their RIN costs through higher refining margins. When these facts are properly taken into consideration, it is clear that EPA has no choice but to deny Gov. Abbott’s request for a waiver of the RFS requirements.”

RFA Statement on Texas Governor RFS Waiver Request

Category: Policy

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