EPA loses SRE suit

In a recent decision, a federal circuit court ruled the EPA had invoked an “impermissibly retroactive” standard to hold a group of refineries to the terms of the RFS.

The case centered on the EPA’s denial of six small refiner exemptions in June of 2022. The refineries argued to the court that they applied for the waivers based on previous EPA practices. The Biden Administration denied those waivers in an attempt to put more ethanol in the gas tanks of American drivers. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit was not swayed by the EPA’s argument that the Biden Administration had made its intentions clear to take a more skeptical view of Small Refinery Exemptions. The 5th Circuit handles cases from district courts in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Over the past three years, the EPA has been denying small refiner exemptions at a higher rate than during the four years of the Trump Administration.

To receive an exemption, a petroleum refiner must prove the mandated levels of ethanol blending are causing them undue economic harm. Production of gasoline in the United States is down 5.5 percent from its 2018 peak of 187 billion gallons.

For Market to Market, I’m Peter Tubbs