Court Vacates Biden on RFS Exemptions

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- A federal appeals court vacated Biden administration reversals of small-refinery exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard in a judgment handed down Friday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sealed its opinion in the case for seven days but issued a two-page judgment that appears to side with refining companies, so the number of exemptions affected is unclear.

In April 2022, the EPA revoked 36 SREs granted by the Trump administration for the 2018 compliance year. In June 2022, the EPA announced the denial of 69 exemption requests.

In April 2022, however, EPA offered most refineries an alternative way to comply with the RFS that wouldn't require the companies to make up for the 1.4 billion gallons of biofuels or compliance credits originally exempted.

There were 32 cases filed against EPA on the Biden administration's decision and consolidated by the court in one group, while six other cases were consolidated in a second group.

"Ordered and adjudged that, in accordance with the opinion of the court filed herein this date, the petitions of company A and company B be denied, but otherwise the petitions for review in (the first group) be granted," the court said in the judgment.

Those cases were remanded back to EPA for "further proceedings," according to the judgment.

In a joint statement following the court's ruling, the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol, all of whom intervened on EPA's behalf in the litigation, said they were disappointed in the ruling.

"We are extremely disappointed in today's decision to vacate and remand EPA's denial of dozens of small refinery exemption petitions," the groups said.

"EPA's decision in 2022 to deny the petitions was well-reasoned, based on sound economic analysis and consistent with both the Clean Air Act and the objectives of the Renewable Fuel Standard. We will evaluate our next steps, which may include seeking further review of today's decision. Our coalition remains resolute and committed to protecting and defending the proper implementation of the RFS."

In the second group of cases, the court said in its judgment it dismissed petitions filed by Growth Energy and Wynnewood Refining Company and denied a petition filed by Sinclair Wyoming Refining Company LLC.

The second group of lawsuits challenged the EPA's alternative compliance option given to the small refiners.

The appeals court's action is the latest in a long drama that has played out across multiple administrations.

In December 2021, the Biden EPA released a proposal to reject all pending exemption requests. The Trump administration approved more than 80 small-refinery exemption requests.

Read more on DTN:

"EPA Denies 36 RFS Exemptions From 2018," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

"Refiner Sues EPA on RFS Waiver Denials," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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