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AFPM challenges RFS rule as Growth Energy backs EPA

The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers is challenging the EPA’s recently finalized 2026-27 Renewable Fuel Standard volumes, and the CEO of Growth Energy says she’s not worried.

“Every time there is a final rulemaking on the RFS, there’s always litigation.”

Emily Skor tells Brownfield “We’re prepared, we will engage, we will intervene, and we will submit our own petitions to support the agency.”

The latest RFS rule, finalized in March, keeps conventional renewable fuels at 15 billion gallons annually, through 2027. The EPA also increased mandates for biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuels.

“They’re fantastic,” says Skor, referencing the blending requirements. “They’re just what they should be.”

Litigation takes time to move through the courts, and Skor says in the meantime, the ethanol industry is focused on meeting the recently approved blending requirements, and what’s ahead for 2028.

The AFPM filed a lawsuit Friday in the D.C. Circuit Court, arguing the requirements are too costly and impractical.

In a press release, the group says the EPA set the RFS at levels too large and expensive for refiners to comply with without affecting fuel supply or increasing costs for consumers. AFPM says a more detailed legal brief will be filed later.

Brownfield interviewed Skor at the International Fuel Workshop and Expo in St. Louis.