Clean Fuels Alliance America to Sue EPA

“Biodiesel and renewable diesel producers are beginning to cut production or close their doors," says Paul Winters of Clean Fuels Alliance America. (United Soybean Board)

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Clean Fuels Alliance America told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that it will sue over the agency’s delay in establishing 2026 biofuel volumes in its Renewable Fuel Standard program that Clean Fuels says will harm businesses across the nation.

“Biodiesel and renewable diesel producers are beginning to cut production or close their doors as a result of EPA’s miscalculation of the 2023, 2024 and 2025 RFS volumes. That means shipping companies who want to reduce environmental impacts in their supply chain and trucking companies that want to use better, cleaner fuels will have a tougher time finding a near-term, cost-effective, low-carbon solution,” said Paul Winters, Clean Fuels public affairs and federal communications director.

Winters declared that EPA should follow through on its promise and “make it a priority to get the RFS on track” since EPA generally issues a proposed rule by June or July to give sufficient time for public comments and hearings and stakeholder input before issuing a final rule before year’s end.

“By statute, the deadline for the EPA’s final rule is 14 months ahead of the start of the compliance year, which for 2026 would be Oct. 31, 2024. EPA even acknowledged this deadline when they set the 2023-2025 volumes,” Winters said.

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Winters 

The White House Office of Management and Budget on June 28 released the Spring 2024 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions with an EPA timeline to propose the 2026 RFS volumes by March 2025 and finalize the rule by December 2025.

“That [timeline] indicates EPA plans to ignore the statutory deadline,” Winters said. Consequently, Clean Fuels on July 17 delivered a formal notice of intent to sue the EPA.

“Clean Fuels provided EPA a great deal of data on our growth to support our petition to revise the 2024 and 2025 RFS volumes for biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuels,” said Kurt Kovarik, Clean Fuels vice president of federal affairs. “There isn’t any practical reason that would prevent the agency from meeting the legal deadline for the 2026 RFS rule.”

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 Kovarik

Clean Fuels told EPA it will continue to miss opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote a domestic, renewable energy economy unless EPA promptly issues a notice of proposed rulemaking for the 2026 RFS volume.

“It is imperative that EPA do so as soon as possible so that it can solicit and consider comments and issue a final volume by the statutory deadline, or as soon as possible thereafter. Should EPA fail to issue a proposed rule within 60 days of this notice, Clean Fuels reserves its right to sue for relief,” the Clean Fuels notice stated.

In the lawsuit announcement, Kovarik cited three earlier letters appealing to EPA to move forward to identify renewable fuel criteria to no avail. As far back as April 29, Clean Fuels asked EPA to meet the Oct. 31 deadline to set 2026 standards for renewable fuel outlined in a letter signed by American Trucking Associations and eight other organizations.

On June 11 a bipartisan letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan was sent by 18 senators — led by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) — encouraging EPA not only to complete 2026 RFS rules but also to lift biofuel volumes to levels that match actual output and availability.

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Regan 

“America’s environmental and energy security depend on the widespread production, availability and use of biofuels. Biofuels play a particularly critical role in emissions reduction for heavy-duty transportation — including aviation, shipping, rail and trucking — while opening up economic opportunities for American farmers,” the senators wrote. “As you know, the RFS requires biomass-based diesel and other advanced biofuels to reduce emissions by at least 50%. In practice, biomass-based diesel reduces life cycle carbon emissions by more than 70% on average.

“Increased production and availability of renewable fuel would provide a direct benefit to consumers at the pump. It would also support farm sector income, which USDA is projecting to fall while the input costs of producing food, fuel and other agricultural products increase.”

Another bipartisan letter went out July 10 to Regan from 37 House members — led by Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) — asking Regan to support biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuel volumes that are realistic about supplies and production capacity.

“Increasing the production, availability and use of advanced biofuels is crucial to meeting America’s decarbonization goals in the transportation sector and shoring up our domestic energy supply chain,” they said, noting that EPA’s volumes set last June were raised but unrealistically low given the nation’s increased production capacity for biodiesel and advance biofuels.

“Domestic fuel production facilities are closing as a result, putting Americans out of work and disrupting local economies,” the representatives noted. “This negative signal to renewable fuel producers threatens billions of dollars of investment in feedstock and fuel production, including for sustainable aviation fuel.”