The global COVID-19 pandemic is causing economic and financial hardship to citizens and corporations, including the refining industry. As a result, the governors of Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming petitioned Andrew Wheeler, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator to waive the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance burdens for 2020.
As a result of the governors’ actions, Chet Thompson, President and CEO of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), issued a statement regarding the need for economic relief during this unprecedented time:
“For many US refineries, RFS compliance has been one of their top annual operating costs — even higher than employee payroll. This is an indefensible burden, especially now as COVID-19 has upended the market for gasoline and refined products and the refining industry nationally is running at low enough capacity that facilities are being forced to idle. Governors recognize the threat the RFS poses to the health of America’s refining sector and momentum is building in the states to push back. AFPM is supportive of these governors’ efforts to stand up for the women and men in our industry who are keeping America’s refineries online. We urge Administrator Wheeler to listen to them. Refineries are critical national security assets and cannot afford the unachievable RFS on top of COVID-19.”
The Department of Homeland Security classifies US refineries as critical national security assets for the COVID-19 response. In order to grant general waivers due to economic hardship, the EPA has to review the condition of the refining sector and figure out if the costs of complying with the 2020 RFS would severely damage regional and state economies, the country, or the environment.