Via Reuters, a federal judge on Monday called the EPA’s delay in implementing the 2013 biofuels mandate “egregious.” The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute are challenging the EPA in a case before the U.S. District Court of Appeals, arguing the agency’s delays have placed a compliance burden on refiners. Last year the EPA issued its biofuels targets nine months after its statutory deadline.
An attorney for the EPA said the extra time was necessary for the agency to decide how to handle the upcoming “blend wall” — the point at which the government requires more than 10% ethanol blending in gasoline. Reuters reported last month ethanol credits cost refiners $1.35 billion in 2013, as prices spiked in anticipation of the blend wall.
