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Rep. Hinson wrote: "Now that the decision is final, Administrator Regan, the fate of the biofuels industry and the livelihoods of farmers in Iowa are in your hands. Should you go back on your word and take the opportunity to grant petitions that will reinstall prior SREs, you will be toying with the financial security of farmers and producers across the nation. If the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deems it appropriate to grant new blend mandate exemptions to refiners, it will set a precedent and send the message that this law does not matter, and that the biofuel industry is not worthy of certainty nor the privilege of operating in a fair and free market."
The full text of the letter can be found below:
Dear Administrator Regan,
I am writing to you out of grave concern for the biofuels industry. As an Iowa Representative and community member, I was extremely disappointed to hear the Supreme Court ruling to overturn the Tenth Circuit Court decision from January 2020. I am urging you to please uphold your previous position that Small Refinery Exemption (SRE) extension petitions should only be granted for refineries that demonstrate an existing exemption.
As you know, the SRE program was created to facilitate the transition for small oil refineries into the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program established in the 2007 Energy Bill. The intention of SREs was to assist in the transition, not to create a loophole to allow certain refineries to evade entirely the legal requirement to blend transportation fuel. The 110th Congress passed this legislation to mandate all transportation fuel in the United States has a biofuel component, and generously added an aspect to ease the adaptation of such requirement for smaller refiners. Fourteen years is ample time for small refiners to determine effective strategies to adapt and abide by established law.
Specifically, if specific facilities’ SREs expired and they were operating in accordance with the blending requirement, they should be ineligible for an “extension” of an expired exemption. I understand the Supreme Court disagrees with this notion, but Congressional intent is clear – as is what is right for the farmers and biofuels producers I represent. The definition of an extension is plainly to prolong or continue something that presently exists, not that previously existed. The term extension has somehow shifted and been redefined to mean “reinstall,” which completely undermines the integrity of the RFS program.
Now that the decision is final, Administrator Regan, the fate of the biofuels industry and the livelihoods of farmers in Iowa are in your hands. Should you go back on your word and take the opportunity to grant petitions that will reinstall prior SREs, you will be toying with the financial security of farmers and producers across the nation. If the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deems it appropriate to grant new blend mandate exemptions to refiners, it will set a precedent and send the message that this law does not matter, and that the biofuel industry is not worthy of certainty nor the privilege of operating in a fair and free market.
As a proven expert in agriculture and environmental stewardship, I trust you understand the weight this decision holds for the future of the farming and energy industries. The RFS program was developed as a proven solution to lower the nation’s carbon emissions and every petition granted is a fight against your own Administration’s battle to mitigate the impacts of greenhouse gases. Iowa biofuel producers are working hard against unfair obstacles to provide a clean energy solution for our domestic fuel supply, and they deserve support from the Administration to do the bare minimum of upholding the integrity of democratically enacted law.
I appreciate your consideration and am eager to work with you to empower our biofuels industry.
Sincerely,
Ashley Hinson
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