Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association are asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a November 2023 decision approving six small refinery exemptions from the nation's biofuel mandate.
The Renewable Fuel Standard allows small refiners to request exemptions from the program's fuel blending obligations if they can demonstrate that meeting the blending targets set but the EPA would be a "disproportionate economic hardship" on the facilities.
In a petition, Growth Energy said in EPA’s past denials of SRE requests the agency revealed the refineries “nearly always recoup their RFS compliance costs” and therefore can’t prove economic harm in the recent exemptions.
In its opinion, the 5th circuit "made procedural and substantive errors and failed to consider the record, which demonstrates that EPA's decision to deny the refinery exemptions was correct and well within its authority," Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor said in a statement.
Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association each filed separate petitions seeking to have the case reheard in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
RFA’s petition says the 5th Circuit’s decision to hear the refiners’ challenge “departs from the court’s precedent and past practices.” RFA stated that four other circuit courts transferred similar cases to the D.C. Circuit—or dismissed them altogether.
The Trump administration awarded SREs at a historic rate, but according to EPA's SRE dashboard no waivers have been granted for the last six compliance years. Seven exemption petitions are currently pending EPA review.
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