NATSO Testifies EPA Needs Transparent Process to Assess Small Refinery Waivers

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs a transparent process to guide its assessment of small refinery waiver requests to ensure that such exemptions don’t continue to undermine the law’s intent and decrease demand for biofuels, a travel center executive testifying on behalf of NATSO told the agency July 18. 

Testifying at an EPA field hearing in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on the 2019 proposed renewable volume obligations (RVOs) under the RFS, Beth Westemeyer, Director of Business Development for Anew Travel and Fuel Centers, the retail arm of Zeeland Farm Services in Zeeland, Mich., said that over the past decade the RFS has succeeded because it allows fuel retailers to offer biofuel blends to consumers at a price that is less expensive than purely petroleum-based products… Read More

NATSO Analysis: EPA’s Proposed Biofuel Mandates a Mixed Bag for Travel Center Operators

The Environmental Protection Agency on June 26 released its proposed renewable volume obligations for 2019 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The proposal also includes a proposed 2020 volume mandate for biomass-based diesel. The proposal would increase advanced biofuels volume requirements for 2019 and biodiesel requirements for 2020 while holding the so-called “ethanol” volume requirement steady. 

These increases are positive for NATSO members. However, the proposal also indicates that EPA will continue to liberally waive obligations for small refineries, which in essence means that the actual volume increases are less than the numbers indicate (as the waivers function as mandate cuts). These waivers undercut the purpose of the RFS and inject uncertainty and volatility into markets that can hinder NATSO members’ operations…. Read More

NATSO Testifies Before Congress on Biodiesel Policy

“My travel center has been incorporating biodiesel into our fuel supply for more than ten years. Once the RFS and similar state incentives became law, it was clear to me that I had to invest in biodiesel in order to remain competitive.” 

“Congress recognized in designing the RFS that the only way to get truck drivers to buy more advanced biofuels is to make those fuels less expensive than straight diesel fuel.” 

“The EPA’s policy of liberally granting small refinery hardship exemptions is undercutting demand for advanced biofuels. When these waivers are issued retroactively, as they have been in recent months, they function as de facto mandate cuts in the RVOs, dramatically lowering RIN prices and in turn, demand for advanced biofuels.” 
Full Written Testimony

NATSO Launches Alternative Fuels Council

NATSO Inc. on June 12 launched a new business venture known as the Alternative Fuels Council (NATSOAltFuels.com) to help fuel retailers leverage the resources necessary to learn about and incorporate alternative fuels into their supply offerings. 

The Alternative Fuels Council will work with members of the truckstop and travel plaza community and other fuel retailers to navigate the litany of state and federal fuel regulations, and to utilize available government incentives for alternative fuels, including the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Alternative Fuels Council will also help its partners implement profitable strategies related to alternative fuel supply options and fuel infrastructure… Read More