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EPA Plans to Issue All Pending Small Refinery Exemptions Decisions By End of August

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The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday said it intends to issue all pending 2025 Small Refinery Exemption decisions by the end of August and plans to extend the Renewable Fuel Standard 2025 compliance deadline for all obligated parties from its current date, Sept. 1, 2026.

"EPA is continuing to work through the process to carry out these actions, and the details on the new compliance deadline will be included in an upcoming formal action," EPA officials told.

They affirmed that the EPA recognizes the importance of the RFS program and is committed to maintaining certainty and stability.

Earlier this month, the agency granted a full small refinery exemption petition, granted two others a 50% exemption, and deemed three ineligible.

EPA is adjudicating SRE petitions pursuant to the authority granted to the Agency by the Clean Air Act section 211(o)(9)(B).

The CAA provides that a small refinery may at any time petition EPA for an extension of the exemption from the obligations of the RFS program for the reason of Disproportionate Economic Hardship.

Additionally, these adjudications are based on EPA's determination that CAA section 211(o) governs how EPA may respond when it extends an exemption, wholly or partially, to a small refinery that has already retired RINs to comply with its RFS obligations.

In such cases, EPA is limited to returning some or all of those retired RINs, commensurate with the degree of the exemption.

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