The Trump administration has decided to limit the small refinery exemptions (SREs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) based on a January court ruling that EPA overstepped its bounds in granting three SREs for the 2016 compliance year.
EPA is now expected to apply the ruling by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals nationwide, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the internal discussions. This would mean that only a few small refiners would be granted the exemptions as the court ruling indicated that EPA erred in granting the waivers as they were not extensions of waivers that had been granted in 2010.
EPA data showed a sizable increase in the level of SRES granted starting with the 2016 compliance year. EPA data posted showed that the agency approved eight out of the 16 SREs sought for the 2013 compliance year, eight of 13 sought for the 2014 compliance year and seven of 14 sought for the 2015 compliance year.
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