WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), released the following statement on the administration’s ongoing discussions on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“The key to any lasting agreement is that the administration continues to protect our nation’s small refineries, as President Trump has done,” said Barrasso. “The Clean Air Act requires EPA to grant relief to any small refinery that suffers disproportionate economic hardship from the Renewable Fuel Standard. During the Obama administration, EPA ignored this requirement and the federal courts rebuked the agency. We can’t go back to those days. I will oppose any agreement that would make it more difficult for small refineries to obtain hardship relief in the future.”

Background Information:

On April 24, 2018, Barrasso and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), chair of the EPW Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt and Energy Sec. Rick Perry calling on them to protect the confidential business information of America’s small refineries.

On April 12, 2018, Barrasso released a statement on the necessity of the EPA granting hardship relief for small refineries under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

On March 5, 2018, Barrasso and Capito sent a letter to Administrator Pruitt and Energy Sec. Rick Perry emphasizing the importance of granting hardship relief for America’s small refineries. The letter also reminded the administrator and the secretary that small refineries submit confidential business and other highly sensitive information that the agencies and their contractors must protect from all outside parties. 

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