The American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers welcome the US Environmental Protection Agency’s proposals to address renewable fuel credit fraud, but would like to see the agency go further, the trade associations jointly said.
“EPA’s proposal is a welcome attempt to address the significant fraud in the biofuel markets, but will not solve the systemic problems caused by the [federal Renewable Fuel Standard] biofuel mandates,” AFPM Pres. Charles T. Drevna said Apr. 19.
“These mandates will harm consumers as EPA forces the consumption of increasing amounts of biofuels that are incompatible with today’s cars and refueling facilities,” Drevna noted.
AFPM supports the agency’s decision to provide refiners with an affirmative defense to the liability created by fraudulent biofuel producers, Drevna said, but the scope of the EPA proposal is much broader than the problem it purports to solve.
The rule follows EPA’s discovery of more than 140 million fraudulently created biodiesel credits—known as renewable identification numbers—and its decision to assess fines against refiners who purchased such RINs from EPA-registered biodiesel producers.
API Senior Policy Advisor Patrick Kelly said the trade association considers EPA’s proposal a positive first step. “The voluntary program allows companies that purchase credits to be assured they were validly generated and represent true production of renewable fuels,” he indicated.
“We remain concerned, however, that EPA’s proposal shifts some of [its] enforcement responsibility onto third party auditors,” Kelly continued. “EPA’s plan does not change the fact that the [RFS] is unworkable and must be repealed.”
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].