"Watchdog Wants Probe Into Relaxed Fuel Regs"

"A watchdog group suggested Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) move to lower the renewable fuel standard came at the behest of big business.

The allegation drew sift rebuke from the EPA, which said the action was the result consultation with a broad range of groups and careful government analysis.

In a letter to EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington requests a formal probe into whether Delta Airlines and the Carlyle Group, a Washington-based investment firm improperly influenced the decision.

The proposal, unveiled last year but not yet finalized, reflects the EPA’s first ever action to decrease the amount of renewable fuels that must be blended into traditional ones."

Benjamin Goad reports for The Hill May 22, 2014.