RFS Waiver Case Heading to Supreme Court

Late last week, U.S. Supreme Court justices, without comment, agreed to take up an appeal in the case of the Environmental Protection Agency’s granting of Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) waivers to small oil refineries in the name of the enhanced risk they face because of the biofuels mandates. The court will examine the waiver policy after the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado, ruled that EPA “mishandled the small-refinery exemptions program.” The increasing number of waivers has slowly put a damper on ethanol demand and depressed market prices, biofuels industry leaders say. The Supreme Court will take up the ruling in April, with a ruling likely taking several months. See the latest on the story.