A recent court decision that struck down oil refinery waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has some lawmakers upset.

Sources say the 10th U.S. Circuit Court decision in January struck down waivers to three oil refineries, which were granted by the EPA in 2017 to adhere to the biofuel blending requirements from the Renewable Fuel Standard. U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, who made a campaign stop in Jefferson last Friday, said the Trump Administration is allowing for an appeal to the ruling. Ernst talked about a conversation she had with President Donald Trump earlier that day. 

“As he stated to me, he believes that there’s no way that that is going to be overturned. He thinks that we’ll be able to preserve what we’ve been able to achieve for our farmers, with the small refinery exemptions going away, he believes that.”

She said if the court decision is overturned, it will hurt farmers, but some help is on the way with a new Chinese trade deal. Ernst described how the first phase of the new deal will help farmers.

“It is approximately $40 billion over the next two years. So we knew that it wasn’t going to be immediate, but that it would be phased in. So China Phase I over the course of the next two years purchasing those agricultural goods and other manufactured goods, and then moving into the Phase II of the deal, which will be additional goods from across the United States.”

Ernst admitted it will be a long, uphill battle to get the final part of the agreement completed, which protects U.S. intellectual property.