As fight rages over biofuels mandate, EPA’s Andrew Wheeler weighs options to help small refiners

Andrew Wheeler, the administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, said he’s been talking with small refiners to determine how to help them after a federal appeals court sharply restricted the agency’s ability to exempt them from federal biofuels requirements.

The renewable fuel standard, or RFS, has taken a “double hit,” Wheeler said Wednesday, speaking during an oversight hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. He was referring in part to a ruling earlier this year from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit that largely handcuffs the EPA’s ability to grant waivers to small refiners exempting them from the biofuels blending requirements.