Utah energy firm receives EPA penalty for Renewable Fuel Standard violations
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) have announced a settlement with Utah-based Washakie Renewable Energy that resolves allegations that the company generated more than 7.2 million invalid renewable fuel credits worth more than $2 million (€1.8 million).
From January to October of 2010, Washakie generated more than 7.2 million Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs, and reported to EPA that it produced biodiesel associated with those RINs at its Plymouth, Utah facility. During that time, however, Washakie did not produce any biodiesel at the Plymouth facility. The biodiesel associated with the 7.2 million RINs would have accounted for a reduction of emissions equivalent to more than 30,000 MT of carbon dioxide. Washakie has purchased and retired from the market an equivalent number of RINs, which achieved this reduction of emissions.
Renewable fuel producers and importers generate RINs for each gallon of renewable fuel in the US market that meets greenhouse gas emissions reduction standards established under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Washakie will pay a $3 million penalty under the settlement, which was lodged in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
This is the first case under the second Renewable Fuels Standards in which, as a part of a settlement, EPA secured the replacement of invalid RINs by the producer of those RINs. Because Washakie purchased and retired an equal amount of RINs to the number identified as invalid and used for compliance purposes, EPA does not plan to request that the obligated parties who used the invalid RINs replace them. This reduces the burden on the parties that purchased and used the RINs for compliance purposes.
EPA initially discovered these violations during an EPA inspection of the Washakie facility in Plymouth, Utah in 2010, and uncovered additional information concerning the violations in Washakie's response to information requests and additional investigative work by the agency.