WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), issued the following statement in support of the state of Wyoming’s amicus brief which was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The amicus brief supports a petition from small refineries seeking a rehearing of a recent court ruling affecting small refineries under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). On January 24, 2020, a three-judge panel of the Tenth Circuit invalidated hardship relief for three small refineries, including a small refinery in Cheyenne, Wyoming. 

“I stand with Wyoming and fully agree with its amicus brief in support of our state’s small refineries,” said Barrasso. “This court’s decision was poorly reasoned and will put thousands of small refinery jobs at risk. A decision with such grave consequences deserves, at a minimum, a rehearing before all the judges on the Tenth Circuit.”

Background Information: 

On Feb. 27, 2020, Barrasso – joined by a dozen other senators – sent a letter to President Trump asking him to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to file a petition for a rehearing with the Tenth Circuit.

The EPW Committee has jurisdiction over the EPA and the RFS program.

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