Refiner Bankruptcy Adds to Pressure to Overhaul Biofuel Program
- Biofuel mandate overhaul mulled by Congress after bankruptcy
- Unions and Pennsylvania politicians seek immediate action
The bankruptcy of Philadelphia Energy Solutions LLC, the biggest refiner on the U.S. East Coast, has invigorated efforts to overhaul a 13-year-old federal program promoting biofuels that has drawn bitter criticism from the oil industry.
Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is drafting legislation that aims to stem compliance costs for refiners while encouraging the construction of storage tanks and blender pumps needed to get more biofuel into cars. Separately, fellow Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz is mulling other changes that Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency could adopt administratively. And EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is arguing it’s "very, very important" to reform the accounting mechanism that he says is to blame for some refiner woes.