The EPA rejected a petition by oil refiners to relieve them of the responsibility for blending biofuels into gasoline and diesel fuel, “dealing a blow to billionaire investor Carl Icahn and oil companies that had sought the change,” reports Bloomberg. EPA administrator Scott Pruitt told farm-state lawmakers a few weeks ago that the agency was unlikely to change the “point of obligation,” based on its preliminary analyses.
In an 87-page document, the EPA said a change in the point of obligation would not result in a net overall benefit. The ethanol industry opposed the change, saying it would destroy the Renewable Fuel Standard, which sets a target for U.S. use of renewable fuels. Bloomberg said the EPA agreed, quoting it as saying a change “would be very disruptive to the program and likely the fuels marketplace as well.”
“Refiners are affected unevenly by the current mandate; those without sufficient infrastructure to blend in biofuels themselves must instead buy credits to comply,” said Bloomberg. “Meanwhile, other companies that blend transportation fuels — but don’t own refineries and therefore are not required to satisfy annual biofuel quotas — can sell those tradable credits.” Icahn advocated the change while also serving as a regulatory adviser to President Trump.