RFS Roundup: Watchdog Group Sues EPA Over RFS Approach

On October 22, the watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), filed suit against the EPA for failure to provide documents related to the 2014 Renewable Volume Obligates (RVOs), the amount of ethanol that is blended into the U.S. transportation fuel supply. Seeking clarity on last November’s EPA proposal to lower the amount of biofuels blended into gasoline and diesel, CREW filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents related to the decision in May.  Their FOIA request was spurred by a Reuters investigation of White House meetings which showed that a cozy relationship between two Philadelphia refineries and Reps. Robert Brady (D-PA) and Pat Meehan (R-PA), may have had outsized influence over the Administration’s proposal to lower the 2014 RFS.  

Now CREW executive director Melanie Sloan claims that EPA is “slow-walking the release of documents” in relation to the FOIA request, only now beginning to make documents available. CREW wants to know, is it because the EPA “does not want the public to learn how political the RFS has become?” The final 2014 numbers were originally expected early this year.  Meanwhile, it is unlikely they will be released before the midterm elections.  Indeed, they are so late now; that they will most likely serve as de facto numbers for the 2015 RFS.

Sources: 

• Watchdog Group Sues EPA Over Renewable Fuel Mandate, The Hill 
• CREW Sues EPA for Documents Regarding 2014 Renewable Fuel Standards, Citizens for Ethics in Washington