A group of small U.S. refiners said they will sue EPA in 60 days if the agency fails to issue decisions on small refiner exemptions (SREs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), according to news reports and DTN's Ethanol Blog.
The coalition of small refiners said reminded EPA that the agency is required to act on SREs within 90 days after receiving the request, noting the agency did not issue decisions on requests for the 2018 compliance year by March 31, 2019, the date the group said was the compliance deadline.
"This letter ... provides notice of our intent to sue in federal court 60 days after delivery of this letter ... The small refinery owners, however, urge the administrator to issue the 2018 decisions as soon as possible, so it will be unnecessary to file suit," it said.
EPA data shows 38 SREs are still pending for the 2018 compliance year out of 40 submitted – two were declared ineligible or withdrawn.
SREs remain a controversial portion of the RFS with biofuel backers blasting them as reducing required biofuel use while refining interests say the law requires them to be used.
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