WASHINGTON, DC. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, released the following statement today after the EPA announced the agency will provide “an alternative compliance approach” for 31 small oil refineries that failed to comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) during the 2018 compliance year.

“This recent announcement is yet another example of this administration’s failure to stand up for rural America. Despite campaign promises to promote biofuels, Biden’s EPA is letting small oil refiners off the hook at the expense of farmers and ethanol producers. I will continue to work to build bipartisan support in Congress for policies that will uphold the integrity of the RFS and provide certainty for farm country.”

Senator Fischer is a champion of policies to promote biofuels and fix the small refinery exemption process. She is the lead sponsor of two bipartisan pieces of legislation to address these issues.

1. The bipartisan Fischer/Klobuchar Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act would extend the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) volatility waiver to ethanol blends above 10 percent. It would increase market access and continue to allow retailers across the country to sell E15 and other higher-ethanol fuel blends year round, eliminating confusion at the pump.
2. The bipartisan Fischer/Duckworth RFS Integrity Act of 2021 would provide more certainty for rural America by bringing transparency and predictability to EPA’s small refinery exemption process. The bill would require small refineries to petition for RFS hardship exemptions by June 1st of each year. This change would ensure that EPA properly accounts for exempted gallons in the annual Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) it sets each November.