Ethanol industry sues EPA

May 30, 2018

Five groups are challenging waivers the EPA has granted

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Members of the American ethanol and ag industries are taking legal action against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) are challenging EPA decisions to exempt refineries in Oklahoma, Wyoming and Utah from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements of the Clean Air Act.

The National Farmers Union and Farmers Union Enterprises are also part of the coalition against the EPA.

Parts of the RFS provided refineries with less than 75,000 barrels per day of crude oil throughput with temporary exemptions.

After two years, the refineries could ask for exemption extensions if they could prove the RFS requirements were causing “disproportionate economic hardship,” an RFA release said yesterday.

The ethanol groups allege the EPA granted further exemptions “in secret,” saving the refineries about “$170 million in compliance costs.” They do not believe the refineries are facing any financial stress.

“It’s difficult to see what economic hardship these refineries are facing,” Kevin Skunes, president of the National Corn Growers Association, said in a statement yesterday. “America’s corn farmers, who are expecting their fifth consecutive year of low commodity prices and who are experiencing the lowest net farm income since 2006, understand economic challenges.”

The coalition is asking the EPA for transparency in its decisions to grant the exemptions, given that the refineries involved all reported successful years.

“EPA should be forced to explain why an otherwise profitable refinery faces disproportionate hardship from compliance with the RFS,” the statement said.

Farms.com has reached out to the EPA for comment on the legal proceedings.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.