Senator Ernst Comments on EPA’s New RFS Website

WASHINGTON – Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) issued the following statement in regard to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement about an update to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program website:

“I’ve been consistently pushing the EPA to provide greater transparency in both the RIN market and the process for granting small refinery exemptions. While this effort by Acting Administrator Wheeler is a step toward improved transparency on the RFS and will help provide clarity for Iowa’s ethanol producers and farmers, I am hopeful the EPA will go a step further and disclose the names of waiver recipients, and the criteria by which they were granted the exemption.”

Background:

EPA’s updated website, announced under Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler on September 20, 2018, includes the following new data:

·         The number of small refinery exemptions received, granted and denied for each compliance year;

·         The weekly average price of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) traded; and

·         The weekly volume of RINs traded.

All of the data on the website is accessible to renewable fuel producers, refineries and other stakeholders involved with the RFS. To access EPA’s new website, click here.