EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler defended the use of small refiner exemptions (SREs) in a session last week with four biofuel-backing senators, according to a report from Reuters.
The expanded use of SREs relative to obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has become a flashpoint between biofuel supporters and the U.S. refining industry. Wheeler told the farm-state lawmakers – including key Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, – that the program has not had a negative impact on ethanol demand, the report said.
The refining industry says the SREs are critical for small refiners as complying with the RFS can put them in a financial bind, arguing that ethanol demand has not be curtailed due the expanded use of SREs. Wheeler, the report said, argued that the downturn in ethanol demand came from falling gasoline consumption, not SREs.
The meeting took place July 24, the report said.
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