In one of its major end-of-year actions, the EPA on Wednesday released its final renewal fuel standards (RFS) for 2017 and, for biomass-based diesel, for 2018. The Agency increased the RFS percentages across all categories of biofuels, an action that was welcomed by RFS advocates and criticized by the petroleum industry as burdening consumers with higher prices and more repair bills.
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Under section 211 of the Clean Air Act, the EPA must set renewable fuel percentage standards every year. The section specifies minimum biofuel production volumes, but also gives the EPA waiver authority to set standards lower than the statutory minimums “if implementation would severely harm the economy or environment of a State, region, or the United States, or if there is an inadequate domestic supply.”