The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week approved five more small refinery exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2017, waiving compliance requirements on 366 million gallons of biofuels and drawing the ire of ethanol supporters.

The move raises the number of waivers granted in 2016 and 2017 to 53, exempting 2.6 billion gallons of biofuel. That’s the equivalent of more than 900 million bushels of lost corn grind demand in ethanol, the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) pointed out. 

“The...