Refiners: More than EPA’s PES waiver is needed to survive the RFS
Source: By Kelsey Tamborrino, Politico • Posted: Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Two Philadelphia-area refiners said a consent decree between EPA and Philadelphia Energy Services was an acknowledgment by the government that the Renewable Fuel Standard is broken and needs significant reform. PBF told DOJ, which took comments on the agreement until Monday, that “one-time forgiveness of RIN obligations fails to remedy the root cause for the bankruptcy and provides the wrong incentives to the [Renewable Identification Number] market.” Monroe said the agreement “is a reflection, an acknowledgment, of the economic harm caused by the RFS program.” Both of them were joined by refining giant Valero in arguing that the program needs to be changed more radically than just the one-time waiver offered by EPA. Ethanol producers said in their own earlier comments that they oppose the consent decree and reject the idea that PES’ bankruptcy could be blamed on the RFS