A group led by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) has filed a lawsuit against the state of Minnesota's B10 biodiesel requirement, arguing it violates various federal and state laws.

The groups argue that the Minnesota requirement violates the federal Clean Air Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the U.S. Constitution and the Minnesota Administrative Procedures Act. The lawsuit also alleges that the mandate is injurious to consumers and businesses and asks for a permanent injunction barring enforcement of the existing mandate and any future expansion of a higher biodiesel ratio.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota on April 17 by the Minnesota Trucking Association, the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, API and AFPM.

Commissioners from the state’s pollution control agency, agriculture and commerce departments, along with the director of the commerce department’s weights and measures division, are named as defendants in a lawsuit filed April 17 by API and AFPM—the muscle driving this lawsuit—claim that the state mandate is in opposition to the RFS, which API and AFPM clearly want repealed.

“[The RFS] prohibits EPA from imposing any per-gallon biodiesel content requirements,” the lawsuit states. “The Minnesota mandate flies in the face of the federal program by removing the flexibility that federal law provides to obligated parties—dictating exactly where, when, and how much biodiesel must be blended.”

Since 2009, Minnesota has required the blending of biodiesel. Last July, the state blending ratio increased from 5 percent to 10 percent for part of the year, and eventually could rise to 20 percent. It remains at B-5 from October to March.

The Minnesota Soybean Growers Association (MSGA), in coordination with the National Biodiesel Board and industry stakeholders, are tracking the issue closely and MSGA issued the following statement:

“The Minnesota Soybean Growers Association is proud of the implementation of B10 and how our state regulators have implemented this change. Not only do Minnesota soybean farmers produce the feed-stock for biodiesel, more than 24,000 farmers use biodiesel in their farm operations and to haul the goods of Minnesota’s second largest industry. Change is often difficult, but Minnesotans voted for change because Minnesotans wanted a cleaner, renewable fuel. Recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as an advanced biofuel for its ability to reduce greenhouse gasses by more than 50 percent, biodiesel is a true renewable fuel alternative that promotes clean air. The current use of biodiesel blends in Minnesota is equal to removing 128,000 vehicles from the state’s roads, and biodiesel is an important driver of jobs in Minnesota.”