The Renewable Fuels Association sent a formal petition letter on Friday to incoming Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. The trade association urged the agency to promptly deny petitions filed by several state governors seeking a general waiver of 2027 Renewable Fuel Standard blending obligations. Governors from oil-refining states had asked the federal government to reduce nationwide biofuel mandates citing high pump prices. Domestic biofuel manufacturers rejected the premise of the waiver requests.
Refining trade groups contended that global crude volatility stemming from conflict in the Middle East warranted regulatory relief under federal clean air provisions. Agricultural economists countered that petroleum disruptions, not domestic biofuel blending, drive diesel price swings across wholesale distribution networks. Removing biofuel blending mandates would reduce the aggregate domestic fuel supply.
According to public filings released Friday by the Renewable Fuels Association and agricultural trade reporting on American Ag Network, industry leaders warned that waiving standards would damage farm country. RFA President and Chief Executive Officer Geoff Cooper stated: "Instead, it would diminish the demand signal President Trump and EPA provided for American-made renewable fuels and create further uncertainties for agricultural communities already facing difficult conditions." The letter noted that cheaper ethanol blends lower consumer pump expenses. Farm coalitions requested an immediate denial.
The association underscored that since 2008, the EPA has received twenty-two general waiver requests from governors and more than a dozen petitions from merchant refiners. In every single instance, federal regulators denied or dismissed the applications after finding no evidence of statutory economic harm. Legal statutes require petitioners to prove that RFS mandates directly cause widespread regional catastrophe. The current petitions fail to meet statutory evidence standards.
