Cole, Oklahoma colleagues seek continued relief for small refineries

U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) and two of his Republican home-state colleagues urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to continue granting relief to small refineries in accordance with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“It has been reported that the EPA will apply the Tenth Circuit’s holding in Renewable Fuels Association, et al. v. EPA nationwide. We respectfully ask that you reconsider this decision,” wrote Rep. Cole and U.S. Reps. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Kevin Hern (R-OK) in a March 13 letter sent to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.

“The current decision, as it stands, will jeopardize or otherwise end small refinery hardship relief and result in the loss of countless jobs that contribute to the energy independence of the U.S. economy,” Rep. Cole and his colleagues wrote.

Specifically, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in January ruled in Renewable Fuels Association et al. v. EPA that the EPA exceeded its authority in granting compliance exemptions to three refineries from 2016 and 2018 RFS obligations. The court determined that the EPA’s action was illegal.

On March 9, the same court approved requests by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), HollyFrontier, and CVR Energy for an extension of the deadline to file motions asking for a rehearing of the case, with the new deadline for requesting a rehearing set for March 24.

In its motion, the DOJ stated, “The extension of time is necessary to allow the United States an opportunity to determine whether, and to what extent, the government will file a petition for rehearing en banc in this case.”

On Friday, the Trump administration said it will appeal the court’s unanimous January ruling.

Rep. Cole and his colleagues agreed, writing that the EPA “must appeal the Tenth Circuit’s decision and request an en banc hearing, as well as maintain the longstanding position that small refineries can petition for hardship relief, at any time.”

“Your support is necessary in order to uphold the purpose of small refinery hardship relief under the RFS program, while also preventing undue harm to small refineries,” the lawmakers wrote.

Rep. Cole and his colleagues noted that their state’s five refineries collectively produce 522,800 barrels of oil per calendar day and directly and indirectly employ thousands of Oklahomans.

“If the waiver exemptions are no longer granted, companies may be forced to lay off, or shut down their operations,” they wrote. “The end of these waivers would result in nothing but negative impacts to the local, state, and national economy.”