Biofuel and agricultural organizations are up in arms over news reports out late Thursday saying President Trump is now planning to appeal the 10th Circuit Court decision regarding EPA’s granting of Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs). Oil state interests, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), have been pressuring the White House to fight the unanimous court ruling that threatens to completely change the waiver program under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

The National Corn Growers Association, Renewable Fuels Association, American Soybean Association, National Farmers Union, Growth Energy, American Coalition for Ethanol, National Biodiesel Board, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, and Fuels America issued a joint statement regarding the news reports:

“The president needs to understand that Ted Cruz doesn’t care about this administration or families across the heartland who are counting on the White House to keep its promises. Just days ago, thousands of farmers rallied behind Secretary Perdue, who expressed his confidence that we had finally reached the end of a long and painful fight against EPA demand destruction. Tearing open that wound, against the advice of rural champions and the president’s own advisors, would be viewed as a stunning betrayal of America’s rural workers and farmers. We cannot stress enough how important this decision is to the future of the rural economy and to President Trump’s relationship with leaders and voters across the heartland. Ted Cruz comes back year after year with the same lies about refinery profits, disproven over and over by economists, the EPA, and even by Big Oil. We urge the president to stand up now against this misguided effort to torpedo the rural recovery.”

Earlier this week, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said USDA legal counsel believes the case is solid and he doesn’t “think it would be worthwhile for the U.S. government to appeal that and I hope we won’t.”