WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not yet decided whether to grant requests from the oil refining industry to reduce biofuel blending mandates this year, agency chief Andrew Wheeler told lawmakers in a hearing on Wednesday.
The oil industry and several state governors had asked the EPA to issue a nationwide waiver to trim back the blending mandates to reduce regulatory costs on refining companies, as they struggle with low fuel demand caused by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Asked if the agency had decided on how to handle the requests, Wheeler said: “No we have not yet.”
Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
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