The court says this summer’s biofuel exemption denials were not legal.

That sort of thing was expected but we were worried about it.

That’s Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive director Monte Shaw. He says the previous administration allowed exemptions but then this last summer…

When the Biden administration came in and they basically looked at it so yeah, none of these are justified and denied them.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals disagrees with that action, claiming it overlooked economic burdens. A coalition representing farmers and ethanol producers responded to the judgment, saying the RFS does not impose an economic burden on refiners. Shaw claims the facts are on their side, including research from the American Petroleum Institute.

Almost all the economists agree that the cost of compliance with the renewable fuel standard for refiners, large or small, is passed along in their products and so it really doesn’t hit their bottom line

Shaw says ultimately this is just one court decision.

But in other regions they have sided with the Biden EPA so I think what we’re gonna see next is all this is gonna get kicked upstairs to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.

Shaw says it is a setback and they are unsure how it will play out but he’s hopeful the DC court will adjudicate.

If you don’t want different rules for different refineries, I mean, I think we can all agree that’s not fair. We need to get an answer to this. We think the answer is that these refinery exemptions are not justified under the law, and that they should be denied based on all the evidence that’s out there.