EPA Gives Small Refineries a Break from Green Fuel Rules
Published Date: 11/20/2025
Notice
Summary
The EPA just decided on 16 requests from small refineries asking to skip some renewable fuel rules from 2021 to 2024. Two refineries got full exemptions, twelve got half, and two were denied. These decisions affect small refineries’ costs and how they meet clean fuel goals, with the news announced on November 20, 2025.
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 2 mixed.
EPA Will Return Retired RINs for Exemptions
EPA decided that when a small refinery has already retired RINs (renewable identification numbers) to comply, the Agency will return some or all of those retired RINs commensurate with the granted exemption. EPA estimated that replacing retired RINs with current vintage RINs would introduce approximately 3 billion new RINs into the market, and returning retired RINs is intended to avoid that market disruption.
Most Petitions Won Partial or Full Relief
If you operate a small refinery, EPA decided on 16 exemption petitions for the 2021–2024 compliance years from 8 refineries. EPA granted full (100%) exemptions to 2 petitions and partial (50%) exemptions to 12 petitions; 2 petitions were denied. These decisions were announced on November 7, 2025 and published on November 20, 2025.
Denied Petitions Must Meet RFS Obligations
If your small refinery had one of the two petitions denied, EPA did not extend an exemption for your 2021–2024 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations. Those refineries remain subject to their full RFS compliance requirements for those years. The decisions were announced November 7, 2025 and published November 20, 2025.
EPA Will Defer to DOE Matrix for Hardship Finds
EPA explained it will generally defer to the Department of Energy's (DOE) matrix as a reasonable proxy for determining whether a small refinery experiences disproportionate economic hardship (DEH), creating a rebuttable presumption in favor of the DOE findings. EPA still may consider other economic factors and depart from DOE's finding if those factors compel a different result.
Deadline to Seek Judicial Review in D.C. Circuit
If you want to seek judicial review of these November 2025 SRE decisions, petitions must be filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit by January 20, 2026. EPA published its finding that these actions are based on determinations of nationwide scope or effect, which directs petitions for review to the D.C. Circuit.
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