Ethanol Groups File FOIA Suit Seeking Data on Small Refinery Exemptions

Two ethanol trade associations as anticipated are asking a federal court to force EPA and the Energy Department to hand over documents on exemptions granted to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy want to know which refineries EPA has exempted from complying with the RFS to then challenge the exemptions in court. The groups filed a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging EPA and DOE violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by not responding to their requests for the information.EPA has previously said the names of refiners that received waivers is exempt from disclosure under FOIA because it is commercially sensitive information. RFA President Bob Dinneen noted in a statement that, as recently as 2016, the EPA proposed a rule to make basic information on the refinery exemption process made public. “So, why is EPA continuing to hide this information from public scrutiny and protect both the previous EPA administrator and highly profitable refiners who probably exploited and abused the exemption provision?" he asked.