House Approves Provisions of Peterson's Renewable Fuel Standard Integrity Act

(Washington D.C.) Today the House of Representative passed H.R. 4447, the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act, that includes the provisions of Congressman Collin C. Peterson’s Renewable Fuel Standard Integrity Act.

Since 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved 85 small refinery exemptions, reducing demand for renewable fuels like corn ethanol and biodiesel by roughly 4 billion gallons.

“The House passage of H.R. 4447 moves us closer to holding EPA accountable for its reckless use of small refinery waivers," Peterson said. "EPA has granted dozens of waivers in recent years and has refused to share details of their justification with Congress and the public. The waivers undermine the blending requirements required by law and harms rural communities that produce biofuels. The provisions of my bill will force EPA to publicly release details of these waiver petitions.”

H.R. 4447, Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act sets an annual deadline for refiners to request exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard and requires EPA to publicly release the name of refiners requesting a waiver, the number of gallons requested to be waived, and the number of gallons of biofuel that will not be blended as a result of the waiver. These provisions mirror the provisions of Congressman Peterson’s H.R. 3006, the Renewable Fuel Standard Integrity Act, while addressing business confidentiality concerns raised by members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Congressman Peterson is a co-chair of the Congressional Biofuels Caucus, a bipartisan group of Members of Congress who advocate for homegrown renewable fuel policies that boost farmer incomes and reduce dependence on foreign oil.