EPA Issues Request For Comment On RFS Petition For Waiver Requests

By   Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.

On January 19, 2021, EPA issued a request for comment on petitions submitted in 2020 for a waiver of the RFS obligations that apply to 2019 and 2020. The petitions argue that recent events warrant EPA exercising its general waiver authority on the basis of severe economic harm. In late March 2020, a group of small refineries requested a waiver of the 2019 and 2020 RFS obligations. In April 2020, Governors of several states submitted three petitions for waivers of the nationwide volumes. Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA is granted the discretion to waive the requirements of the RFS program in whole or in part if the EPA Administrator determines, after a notice and comment, that the implementation of the applicable annual volume requirements would severely harm the economy or environment of a state, region, or the United States. Comments on the aforementioned petitions are due on February 18, 2021.