(NAFB) – The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to urge the White House to lower biofuel blending mandates below 2020 levels.

However, the proposal will increase renewable volume obligations in 2022. EPA is sending the proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget. Reuters first reported the proposed RVO levels Friday, as sources say the EPA is looking to align mandates with actual production levels, which have slumped during the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, the 2021 mandates are more than a year and a half delayed and were supposed to be released in November 2020, by the Trump administration. The mandate outlines the required amount of biofuels refiners must blend in their fuels.

Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, released a reaction statement last week.

Grassley says, “If the reports are true, then once again, the EPA is giving a gift to Big Oil and is playing games with the Renewable Fuel Standard law.”