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 in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision not to appeal a recent court ruling affecting small refineries under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). On January 24, 2020, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit invalidated hardship relief for three small refineries, including a small refinery in Cheyenne, Wyoming. 

“EPA’s decision not to appeal the court’s ruling is inexcusable,” said Barrasso. “The court has effectively ended hardship relief for small refineries under the nation’s broken biofuel mandate. The agency’s decision to give up without a fight threatens small refineries in Wyoming and across the country. In Wyoming and elsewhere, small refineries create good paying jobs and help support local communities. EPA’s decision puts tens of thousands of jobs at risk at a time of great economic uncertainty.”

Background Information: 

On Feb. 27, 2020, Barrasso along with a dozen other senators sent a letter to President Trump urging him to file a petition for a rehearing of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit’s decision to invalidate hardship relief for small refineries under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). 

On Dec. 2, 2019, Barrasso sent a letter to EPA Administrator Wheeler to express his opposition to the agency’s proposal regarding the RFS. EPA proposed to reallocate the blending obligations of small refineries, which receive hardship relief under the RFS, to refineries (small and large), which do not receive or are ineligible for hardship relief.  

On August 12, 2019, Barrasso praised the Trump administration’s decision to grant hardship relief to 31 small refineries under the RFS for compliance year 2018.

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