NEW YORK, July 14 (Portal) – President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday rejected almost all outstanding petitions from oil refiners demanding an exemption from regulations requiring them to blend biofuels into their fuel.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is responsible for issuing the waivers, denied 26 requests from 15 small refiners that had applied for waivers for compliance years 2016-2018 and 2021-2023, the agency said on Friday. Two petitions are still pending.
The agency also disclosed which oil refiners filed petitions in July 2022 or later and which oil refiners are participating in an alternative compliance plan that gives them flexibility in complying with biofuel blending laws.
Under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), oil refiners must blend billions of gallons of biofuels into the country’s fuel mix or buy tradable credits from those who do. However, the EPA can grant waivers to some small refiners if they show that the obligations cause them undue harm.
Biden has been trying to put the United States on track to reduce carbon emissions in the fight against climate change, with a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
The government has yet to grant a refinery exemption, reversing the policies of former President Donald Trump, whose administration granted 34 exemptions to oil refiners in 2017 compliance year alone.
EPA consulted with the Department of Energy on Friday’s waiver decisions and found that none of the applicant small refiners had demonstrated that they faced disproportionate economic hardship because of their RFS compliance, the agency said.
NEW TRANSPARENCY
The EPA on Friday released the names of refiners that have filed small refiner exemption requests beginning in July 2022 or later. The agency added this information to its website to demonstrate its commitment to transparency in RFS decisions, it said.
Refiners that filed petitions included Calumet Montana Refining and Ergon Refining. Your requests have been rejected.
The agency also released the names of refiners using an alternate schedule to demonstrate RFS compliance. Companies listed included Sinclair Wyoming Refining Company and Kern Oil and Refining Company.
EPA data showed that 17 small refiners elected the alternate compliance schedule for the 2020 compliance year, the only compliance year included in the data. The group had withdrawn 360 million loans to prove compliance and had 510 million loans outstanding, according to the EPA’s website.
Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Edited by Devika Syamnath, Nick Zieminski and David Gregorio
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