# 2026-15905: EPA Rules on 6 Small Refinery Fuel Exemptions

2026-15905, Notice of August 3, 2026 Decisions on Petitions for Small Refinery Exemptions Under the Renewable Fuel Standard Program, is a Federal Register notice from Environmental Protection Agency published 2026-08-05, effective 2026-08-05; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-15905
- As of: 2026-08-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-15905
- Title: Notice of August 3, 2026 Decisions on Petitions for Small Refinery Exemptions Under the Renewable Fuel Standard Program
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency
- Citation: 91 FR 50532
- Published: 2026-08-05
- Effective: 2026-08-05
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-08-12

## In one line

EPA Rules on 6 Small Refinery Fuel Exemptions

## Summary

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notification of its final action entitled August 3, 2026 Decision on Petitions for RFS Small Refinery Exemptions ("August 3, 2026 SRE Decisions Action") in which EPA issued decisions on 6 small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. EPA is providing this notification for public awareness of, and the basis for, EPA's decision announced on August 3, 2026.

## Effects PRIA read

- Decisions on 6 Small Refinery Petitions: benefit, medium. EPA announced decisions on 6 small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions for the 2023 and 2024 compliance years on August 3, 2026 and published notice August 5, 2026. EPA granted a full (100%) exemption to 1 petition, granted partial (50%) exemptions to 2 petitions, denied 0 petitions, and found 3 pet…
- EPA Can Grant Partial SRE Exemptions: benefit, medium. EPA announced it interprets Clean Air Act section 211(o)(9)(B) to allow the Agency to find a small refinery would experience partial disproportionate economic hardship (DEH) and to extend a partial exemption. EPA explained this interpretation as a nationwide legal determination in the August 3, 202…
- EPA Will Defer to DOE's DEH Matrix: cost, medium. EPA stated it will treat the Department of Energy (DOE) matrix (based on the 2011 DOE study) as a reasonable proxy for determining disproportionate economic hardship (DEH) and will defer to DOE's findings unless EPA's consideration of other economic factors compels a different result. EPA described…
- Exemptions Implemented by Returning Retired RINs: benefit, medium. EPA determined that when it grants an exemption (full or partial) to a small refinery that already retired Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) to comply, EPA is limited to returning some or all of those retired RINs commensurate with the exemption. EPA said this approach is intended to avoid a…

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## Sources
- [2026-15905 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/05/2026-15905/notice-of-august-3-2026-decisions-on-petitions-for-small-refinery-exemptions-under-the-renewable)
- [2026-15905 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-08-05/pdf/2026-15905.pdf)

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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-15905 (as of 2026-08-12).