Earlier in 2023, a slate of union leaders, refinery workers, local elected officials, and small business owners from Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lower its proposed renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for 2023, 2024, and 2025, under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Read more...
What Others Are Saying
Elected officials, organized labor leaders, small businesses, and industry groups throughout Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey are urging the Biden administration to fix the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Read more...
Over the past few years, countless elected officials, as well as organized labor and business leaders from across Ohio and Michigan have called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lower its proposed biofuel blending levels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to support the region’s independent refineries and thousands of high quality refining jobs. Read more...
Over the course of the last several years, countless New Jersey elected officials, organized labor leaders, small businesses, and business advocacy groups have repeatedly urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fix the federal biofuel mandate – the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) – that continues to drive up gas prices and push the region’s independent refineries to the brink of closure. Read more...
Countless Pennsylvania elected officials, as well as organized labor and business leaders from across the Commonwealth, submitted public comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the agency’s recently proposed biofuel blending levels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Read more...
Delawareans have been calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to save hundreds of high-quality union jobs in the state by fixing the federal biofuel mandate: the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Unfortunately, the RFS is not operating as Congress intended—as a result, the broken RFS could put Delaware’s only refinery at risk. Read more...
Special Edition of “The Labor Show”
Congressman Donald Norcross (D-NJ-1) joined refining industry workers and other industry representatives for a conversation about America’s growing energy crisis. Read More...
"Our regional refineries are facing an existential threat caused by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS); a well-intentioned federal program that is not operating as Congress intended."
"While many large, multi-national oil companies have the ability to blend renewables, many of the smaller, independent refining companies in our region like Monroe Energy and PBF Energy do not. As a result, we must purchase compliance credits in order to satisfy our RFS obligations." - Shannon Watkins, Vice President, Operations Leader, Monroe Energy
"The market prices for a biodiesel RIN or a corn ethanol RIN are surpassing all-time high levels."
"In May of 2020, the price of RINS was 36 cents, and in May 2021, it has now reached $1.86. I understand that this price volatility creates significant difficulties for independent merchant refineries to plan and comply with the RFS." - Senator Bob Casey
"Trading of these RINS is completely out of the picture of what we’re trying to do.”
“The idea of creating this commodity sounded good, looked good on paper, but the reality is it's making a few people very rich, and it is creating havoc for the rest of America.”
- Congressman Donald Norcross (D-1-NJ)
"That is a win for corn farmers across the Midwest, but at the same time is a win for blue-collar union members who work in refineries that are being bankrupted by a regulatory system that isn't working."
-Senator Ted Cruz
"Big Ethanol's political triumph was a win for the Washington political machine, lobbyists and special interests. But hardworking American families are stuck with a failed energy policy that increases fuel costs, hurts our environment and does absolutely nothing to advance the Trump administration's goal of enhancing America's global energy dominance."
-Professor Mark Perry of the American Enterprise Institute and the University of Michigan-Flint
"Independent refineries that provide good jobs for highly skilled workers cannot afford to keep pace as RINS have become commodities to be hoarded by the largest companies or bought and sold to the highest bidders on Wall Street."
-United Steelworkers National Oil Bargaining Chairman Kim Nibarger
"For example, a recent study found that if U.S. independent refiners go out of business, an estimated 75,000 to 150,000 American jobs are potentially at risk."
-Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Pat Toomey (R-PA), John Barrasso (R-WY), James Inhofe (OK), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
"As a union president, to support a Republican candidate for president, there was some backlash. And now we're left out in the cold. It's very disappointing. It feels like the government has the chips stacked against us. We're crushed between Big Oil and Big Ethanol."
-Ryan O'Callaghan President of United Steelworkers Local 10-1
"In 2012 Philadelphia Energy Solutions paid $10 million for RINs. This year, it will spend $300 million, twice the price of payroll...These independent refiners provide the sort of blue-collar manufacturing jobs that President Trump promised to protect."
-The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board
"A solution is staring EPA in the face. Amend its regulations to permit RFS quotas to be satisfied by the production and distribution of renewables in either domestic or foreign markets."
-Bruce Fern in the Washington Times
"Clearly, this was not anticipated when the RFS was conceived and passed into law. I am concerned that high RIN prices and the volatile market may lead to the closure of one or more of these merchant refiners, which would be devastating to the regional economy."
-Governor Tom Wolf (D-PA)
...We urge the administration to take all necesssary steps to ensure that the Philadelphia-area refineries and the jobs they support are not jeopardized or eliminated by current federal energy policy. We stand ready to assist as your administration strives to reduce compliance costs and support job creation, energy production, and national security."
-Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), and 12 other members of Congress
...at their local gas station, an estimated 75,000 to 150,000 American jobs are potentially at risk if U.S. independent refiners go out of business.”
- Alex Holcomb, Economist
...hundreds of local mom-and- pop gas stations, the Environmental Protection Agency got it wrong with it Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).”
- Alex Holcomb, Economist
...up to $1 billion — think loss of sales, income, and tax revenue — and trigger exponential job losses at local businesses that work with, or depend on, refineries.”
- Alex Holcomb, Economist
