Making the announcement Friday on Small Refinery Exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard, the Environmental Protection Agency also indicated it would propose a supplemental rule in the coming month to consider reallocating the associated RIN gallons and address the impact on the recently proposed 2026-2027 RFS volumes. Clean Fuels Alliance America hopes to work with EPA to quickly finalize this proposal, which will delay the finalization of the 2026 and 2027 rule.

Clean Fuels’ Vice President of Federal Affairs Kurt Kovarik expressed wariness of the agency’s award to the refiners of more than 1.4 billion Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) from compliance years 2023 and 2024 to be used for the delayed compliance deadline for 2024. “EPA’s course correction on RFS small refinery exemptions creates fresh uncertainty for America’s farmers and biodiesel, renewable diesel, and SAF producers. We look forward to working with the agency to ensure this decision does not unwind the strong signal of support issued in June through robust RFS volumes meant to drive growth and recognize investment in domestic fuels and American agriculture.”

In the recently proposed Renewable Fuel Standards for 2026 and 2027 and Draft Regulatory Impact Analysis, EPA reiterated that its analyses consistently show “all obligated parties—including small refiners—fully recover the costs of RFS compliance” through fuel sales.

Kovarik continued, “EPA’s announcement conflicts with its consistent finding that small refiners are not facing disproportionate economic hardships from RFS compliance. Refunding retired RINs has the potential to undercut current markets for domestic biodiesel, renewable diesel, and SAF as well as for American oilseed crops and other feedstocks. This announcement comes just as farmers begin planning to harvest the year’s soybean crop, which is expected to achieve a record-setting yield. We urge EPA to ensure that small refinery exemptions do not undermine the market for farmers and clean fuel producers.”