Carl Icahn, the billionaire owner of the oil company CVR Energy and a former Trump adviser, has been granted a waiver exempting him from a regulation meant to cut air pollution. (Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Apr 30, 2018
After reporting a net income of $234.4 million last year, billionaire investor Carl Icahn--a former regulatory adviser to President Donald Trump--has received a "financial hardship" waiver from the EPA, exempting his oil company from complying with fuel regulations.
As Reuters reported, the waiver is meant for small oil refineries that can prove that compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program would cause them "disproportionate financial hardship."
The RFS program requires large oil companies to mix biofuels like ethanol with oil and gas to cut down on air pollution, support corn farmers, and reduce gas imports. Companies are required to earn or purchase tradable credits for each gallon of blended fuel, to prove compliance.
Icahn's company stands to save tens of millions of dollars per year thanks to the exemption, which had previously been denied by the Obama administration.
In response to the news, the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen demanded an immediate investigation into the waiver:
\u201cWe\u2019re calling for an investigation into billionaire Carl Icahn, a close friend of Trump\u2019s, receiving an EPA \u2018hardship\u2019 waiver worth tens of millions. Icahn\u2019s two refineries posted a combined profit of $286M in 2017 and $115M in the first 3 months of 2018. https://t.co/BbsOGnDKgF\u201d— Public Citizen (@Public Citizen) 1525106753
Icahn has long fought for the elimination of the RFS program, sending former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy an 11-page letter in 2016 calling the credit market "rigged" and complaining that it could send refineries into bankruptcy.
Icahn was an early supporter of Trump and met with Scott Pruitt in late 2016, weeks before he was named EPA administrator, according to reports at the time.
"This one's going to be hard for Pruitt to explain," Brooke Coleman, head of the Advanced Biofuels Business Council industry group, told Reuters of the EPA's decision to grant CVR Energy the RFS waiver.
The businessman stepped down from his position as Trump's regulatory adviser last summer after lawmakers raised concerns that he was influencing biofuel policy and using his access to the president to benefit his financial investments. Icahn is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Our Summer Campaign is now underway, and there’s never been a more urgent time for Common Dreams to be as vigilant as possible. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
After reporting a net income of $234.4 million last year, billionaire investor Carl Icahn--a former regulatory adviser to President Donald Trump--has received a "financial hardship" waiver from the EPA, exempting his oil company from complying with fuel regulations.
As Reuters reported, the waiver is meant for small oil refineries that can prove that compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program would cause them "disproportionate financial hardship."
The RFS program requires large oil companies to mix biofuels like ethanol with oil and gas to cut down on air pollution, support corn farmers, and reduce gas imports. Companies are required to earn or purchase tradable credits for each gallon of blended fuel, to prove compliance.
Icahn's company stands to save tens of millions of dollars per year thanks to the exemption, which had previously been denied by the Obama administration.
In response to the news, the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen demanded an immediate investigation into the waiver:
\u201cWe\u2019re calling for an investigation into billionaire Carl Icahn, a close friend of Trump\u2019s, receiving an EPA \u2018hardship\u2019 waiver worth tens of millions. Icahn\u2019s two refineries posted a combined profit of $286M in 2017 and $115M in the first 3 months of 2018. https://t.co/BbsOGnDKgF\u201d— Public Citizen (@Public Citizen) 1525106753
Icahn has long fought for the elimination of the RFS program, sending former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy an 11-page letter in 2016 calling the credit market "rigged" and complaining that it could send refineries into bankruptcy.
Icahn was an early supporter of Trump and met with Scott Pruitt in late 2016, weeks before he was named EPA administrator, according to reports at the time.
"This one's going to be hard for Pruitt to explain," Brooke Coleman, head of the Advanced Biofuels Business Council industry group, told Reuters of the EPA's decision to grant CVR Energy the RFS waiver.
The businessman stepped down from his position as Trump's regulatory adviser last summer after lawmakers raised concerns that he was influencing biofuel policy and using his access to the president to benefit his financial investments. Icahn is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice.
After reporting a net income of $234.4 million last year, billionaire investor Carl Icahn--a former regulatory adviser to President Donald Trump--has received a "financial hardship" waiver from the EPA, exempting his oil company from complying with fuel regulations.
As Reuters reported, the waiver is meant for small oil refineries that can prove that compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program would cause them "disproportionate financial hardship."
The RFS program requires large oil companies to mix biofuels like ethanol with oil and gas to cut down on air pollution, support corn farmers, and reduce gas imports. Companies are required to earn or purchase tradable credits for each gallon of blended fuel, to prove compliance.
Icahn's company stands to save tens of millions of dollars per year thanks to the exemption, which had previously been denied by the Obama administration.
In response to the news, the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen demanded an immediate investigation into the waiver:
\u201cWe\u2019re calling for an investigation into billionaire Carl Icahn, a close friend of Trump\u2019s, receiving an EPA \u2018hardship\u2019 waiver worth tens of millions. Icahn\u2019s two refineries posted a combined profit of $286M in 2017 and $115M in the first 3 months of 2018. https://t.co/BbsOGnDKgF\u201d— Public Citizen (@Public Citizen) 1525106753
Icahn has long fought for the elimination of the RFS program, sending former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy an 11-page letter in 2016 calling the credit market "rigged" and complaining that it could send refineries into bankruptcy.
Icahn was an early supporter of Trump and met with Scott Pruitt in late 2016, weeks before he was named EPA administrator, according to reports at the time.
"This one's going to be hard for Pruitt to explain," Brooke Coleman, head of the Advanced Biofuels Business Council industry group, told Reuters of the EPA's decision to grant CVR Energy the RFS waiver.
The businessman stepped down from his position as Trump's regulatory adviser last summer after lawmakers raised concerns that he was influencing biofuel policy and using his access to the president to benefit his financial investments. Icahn is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.