A bipartisan group of 20 US senators – 16 Republicans and 4 Democrats – urged President Donald J. Trump not to move forward with a plan to waive Reid Vapor Pressure volatility rules and allow the year-round sale of gasoline with a 15% ethanol blend nationwide. “A one-sided approach to addressing concerns related to the Renewable Fuel Standard that favors only one industry shareholder is misguided,” they noted in their Oct. 4 letter.
“We are concerned that doing so would do nothing to address the policies impacting refinery jobs, could hurt millions of consumers whose vehicles and equipment are not compatible with higher ethanol blended gasoline, and risk worsening air quality,” Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) and the 19 other senators warned. “We write to express our strong opposition to this approach.”
The Renewable Fuels Association and similar groups have said that exemptions the US Environmental Protection Agency has given to small refiners to help them meet their renewable fuel quotas under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act have undermined markets. They said that ethanol prices and profit margins have plunged, along with demand for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), EPA’s renewable fuel credits which refiners and blenders can buy to help meet those quotas.
Trump possibly might order EPA to issue an RVP waiver during an upcoming visit to Iowa, sources say. “A decision to grant such a waiver goes against the agency’s long-standing interpretation as well as a plain reader of the [Clean Air Act],” the senators maintained. “We urge you to engage in a collaborative and transparent process with robust engagement on any RFS reform efforts.”
The presidents of the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers jointly urged Trump earlier to reject waiving RVP requirements for ethanol-blended fuels. “Such an approach is insufficient for refiners and inconsistent with your long-standing commitment to finding a solution that meets the needs of both the biofuels and refining industries,” API Pres. Mike Sommers and AFPM Pres. Chet Thompson said in their letter (OGJ Online, Sept. 26, 2018).
An API official also expressed strong skepticism about statements from the Trump administration that extending the volatility waiver to E15 in exchange for reforming RINs for refiners and blenders would be a possible satisfactory solution for all concerned. “This was never a deal to begin with. It’s not a win for industry, and it’s certainly not a win for consumers,” Downstream and Industry Operations Group Director Frank J. Macchiarola said (OGJ Online, Sept. 28, 2018).
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