(NAFB) – Farm state Senators recently reintroduced the Renewable Fuel standard Integrity Act.

Senators Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, and Deb Fischer, a Nebraska Republican, reintroduced the legislation as a companion to House legislation introduced in February. The bipartisan proposal would require small refineries to petition for Renewable Fuel Standard hardship exemptions by June first of each year. Currently, EPA does not provide any deadline for refiners submitting a request for a small refinery exemption. The change would ensure that EPA properly accounts for exempted gallons in the annual Renewable Volume Obligations it sets each November.

Senator Duckworth states the bill would “bring much-needed transparency to the waiver process and prevent it from being misused to benefit billion-dollar oil companies at the expense of hardworking Americans again.”

Biofuels groups welcomed the bill. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says, “This legislation provides long-overdue transparency for requests to avoid blending more low carbon renewable fuels that are key to America’s low-carbon future.”