WASHINGTON, D.C.- Congressman Steve King issues the following statement in support of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association’s effort to highlight the harm being done to the Renewable Fuels Standard by “small refinery exemptions” granted by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“The Renewable Fuels Standard is the Law of the Land, and ensuring that its strong volume requirements for ethanol are adhered to is a priority for me,” said King. “I have repeatedly expressed my support for ethanol to the President, and he knows I am concerned that the Environmental Protection Agency is using unjustified ‘small refinery exemptions’ to undermine the 15 billion gallons level. The EPA’s ‘small refinery exemptions’ have hurt rural economies throughout the Midwest, and the President should act to prevent further damage from being done. President Trump listened to Iowans when we asked for year round E15, and he should continue to listen to us now when we are asking him to enforce the RFS.”
The negative effect of “small refinery exemptions” on the RFS was the subject of a press conference held this afternoon by Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Secretary Mike Naig and Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Director Monte Shaw. King supports the work being done by Naig and Shaw to draw increased public attention to this important issue.
The EPA says that under EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, a small refinery may be granted a temporary exemption from its annual Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) if it can demonstrate that compliance with the RVOs would cause the refinery to suffer disproportionate economic hardship.
