WASHINGTON, D.C. – The EPA announced Aug. 31 decisions for 29 of 34 small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions under the 2025 Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) program, agency officials said.

The RFS program for 2025 is the final year of the EPA multi-year rule that sets mandatory volume targets and percentage standards for renewable fuels blended into the nation’s transportation fuel supply, the EPA added.

After consulting with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the EPA reviewed and considered information submitted by each petitioning small refinery, and then evaluated each SRE petition consistent with the Clean Air Act and case law. Under the Clean Air Act, SREs are temporary waivers that excuse qualifying small petroleum refineries from their annual biofuel blending requirements under the RFS program, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Based on that analysis, the EPA is exempting 1.76 billion RFS compliance credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) for 29 of the 34 small refineries. The EPA said 18 of the 34 small refineries were granted full (100 percent) exemptions, and 11 were granted partial (50 percent) exemptions; however, three of the 34 small refineries were rejected, and the remaining two small refineries were deemed ineligible, or did not qualify for consideration.

The EPA said it will propose to reallocate 100 percent of the difference between projected and actual exempted volumes for 2025 SREs into the 2026 and 2027 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) before the end of October. RVOs are the mandatory yearly amounts of renewable fuels that oil refiners and fuel importers must blend into the United States transportation fuel supply, the EPA added.

The agency established supplemental volumes for 2026 and 2027 to ensure that the exemptions would not undercut current biodiesel and renewable diesel production, and halt investments in additional production capacity, according to Clean Fuels Alliance America, a national trade association representing the biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel industries.

Due to its 2025 SRE decisions, the EPA said it also announced a direct final rule that has extended the 2025 RVO compliance date to Oct. 1, which will allow the market to appropriately account for the additional RINs.

“Renewable fuels have been a tremendous success story for the country, and the rural economy,” Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau Federation president, said in an Aug. 31 media statement. “They reduce our country’s dependence on foreign oil, lower prices at the pump for consumers, support farm income, and provide good-paying jobs in rural America.

“While we have concerns about granting any small refinery exemptions that undercut a strong domestic biofuels market for farmers, we are pleased to see the EPA’s commitment to 100 percent reallocation of exempted volumes before the end of October,” he added.

Tom Adam, Iowa Soybean Association president, said the association welcomes the EPA’s notice of supplemental rulemaking and their proposal to reallocate all RINs associated with newly expanded small refinery exemptions.

“Complete reallocation of all lost RINs from these newly exempt volumes is the only acceptable solution,” he said in an Aug. 31 media statement. “Let us be clear; these new waivers will not lower gas prices, and any deviation from the EPA’s proposal to completely reallocate is destruction of domestic markets critical to the bottom line of Iowa soybean farmers.

“Protecting domestic demand for soybeans is essential to Iowa farmers, and the future of our industry,” he added. “The EPA must now immediately get to work to ensure their proposal to reallocate 100 percent of lost volumes is realized.”

Dave Walton, American Soybean Association vice president and a Wilton, Iowa, soybean farmer, said although the ASA appreciates the EPA’s commitment to reallocating 100 percent of these additional exemptions and their intention to enter into supplemental rulemaking soon, timing is critical.

“Any delay in reallocation risks undermining the domestic market demand that soybean farmers urgently need as we enter harvest season,” he said in an Aug. 31 media statement. “The EPA must move quickly to fully reallocate these RINs and ensure soybean farmers are held harmless. Addressing updated 2025-2027 SRE levels together would protect the integrity of the RFS, and avoid the need for annual supplemental rulemakings.”

Monte Shaw, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association executive director, said in an Aug. 31 media statement that the total number of RINs had swelled to the current 1.76 billion, compared to an earlier projection of 990 million.

“Every day that passes while these new refinery exemptions are final – but the reallocation is hypothetical – leaves renewable fuels producers and farmers in the lurch,” he said. “The EPA must act expeditiously to propose and finalize a rule that reallocates 100 percent of the new refinery exemptions. Nearly a billion gallons of renewable fuels demand hangs in the balance.”

On Aug. 31, President Donald Trump and the EPA pledged to restore all 770 million RINs exempted above the prior estimate of 990 million RINs through a forthcoming supplemental rule.

“America’s biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producers have been working overtime to meet the historic RFS volumes announced just last March,” Kurt Kovarik, Clean Fuels Alliance America vice president of federal affairs, said in an Aug. 31 media statement. 

He said the industry is producing at record pace today, providing a strong domestic market for America’s farmers, investing billions in rural communities, contributing to America’s energy security, and providing American consumers a price break at the pump: “In short, delivering measurable results on the administration’s goals for the RFS.

“We’re hopeful that today’s action won’t reverse the progress we’ve made, and that our industry can maintain faith in the RFS program,” he added. “We will continue to press the administration to reallocate future small refinery exemptions to ensure they do not harm farmers and other stakeholders in clean fuel production.”