The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to grant a bankrupt Philadelphia refiner relief from the nation’s biofuel laws drew critics on Tuesday who say it sets a bad precedent. The EPA and the Carlyle Group-backed, Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery agreed on Monday that the refiner will have to satisfy only roughly half of its $350 million in outstanding compliance obligations under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The RFS requires refiners to blend biofuels such as ethanol into their fuel or buy credits from those that do. Independent refiners, including some as large as Valero Energy Corp, have long complained about the RFS standards, saying it has boosted costs as the price of credits rose […]