The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Douglas Benevento to be the EPA Deputy Administrator last week, not surprisingly a session, which saw a lot of focus on the issue of small refinery exemptions (SREs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
The attention of questions focused on the 10th Circuit Court ruling, which declared three SREs granted for the 2016 compliance year were invalid.
Benevento initially sought to address the issue by noting when asked that the court decision had come up about the time his nomination was in the process. “I have not been involved in … a lot of the discussions that -- or any of the discussions that have been happening internal at the agency since then,” he noted on the court ruling. “Moving forward what I can tell you is that I am happy to work with you and other members of the committee and Congress along with the administrator to ensure that we… whatever direction is ultimately determined… we move forward and it is equitable to everybody.”
However, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, focused intently on the SRE issue, labeling the court ruling as essentially saying the SREs were “illegal.” She asked Benevento whether he agreed if the court decision was the “law of the land.” When Benevento again tried to indicate the court case came about as nomination was starting to move forward, Ernst said, “can we agree that this is the law of the land right now?” Benevento replied that “it is, yes. It is a 10th Circuit decision and it is binding.”
Asked about the pending 2019 compliance year exemptions by Ernst, Benevento explained that the decision before the administration is a “complex decision” and he said he would happily get back to Ernst in writing. She accepted Benevento’s answer, but cautioned him “guaranteed we will follow up on that.”
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