Ethanol Blog

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- The Trump administration could make an announcement perhaps this week on how it will handle the 195 pending small-refinery exemptions to the Renewable Fuel Standard, according to a report from Bloomberg on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.

The administration on Tuesday provided a glimpse on where things stand on SREs, in a court filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in REH Company LLC v the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. REH Company is one of many companies to sue the agency for denying SRE petitions, filing a petition for Sinclair Wyoming Refining Company in September 2024 challenging EPA's August 2019 denial.

The EPA reportedly has developed a new method to handling SREs.

"The undersigned counsel has been advised that EPA has now

developed a new approach for reviewing small-refinery exemptions and that EPA's current intention is to issue decisions on the small-refinery exemption petitions before it, as well as those that are in litigation, including the exemption petition underlying the denial in this case," the EPA said in a court filing on Aug. 19, 2025.

"EPA will update the court on any effect the anticipated new decisions

may have on the present litigation."

The U.S. ethanol industry has expressed concern that if the SREs are not handled properly by the agency that the ethanol market could suffer.

According to the EPA's small-refinery exemption dashboard, the pending exemptions cover 2016 to 2025. That includes two pending in 2016 and one in 2017. There are 38 pending from 2018; 29 from 2019; 30 from 2020; 20 each in 2021 and 2023; 28 from 2024 and 8 requested in 2025.

EPA did not respond to DTN's request for comment.

In the latest RFS volumes proposal released in June, the Trump administration offered an evaluation of where things stand on SREs.

EPA said the total volumes requirements remain the same regardless of SREs but the percentage obligations for non-exempt obligated parties increase when SREs are granted. So, the volume obligations would be achieved by fewer obligated parties.

"There is currently significant uncertainty regarding the number of small-refinery exemption petitions that could be granted for 2026 and 2027," the agency said in the proposal.

"We have yet to take further action on these petitions and are still determining how we will evaluate and decide those petitions, which would then inform how we would evaluate and decide any SRE petitions received for 2026 and 2027. We expect to communicate our policy regarding SRE petitions going forward before finalization of this rule."

EPA provides a range of potential gallons exempted for 2026 and 2027 from what it says are about 34 qualifying and operational small refineries that produce about 18 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel. To qualify for exemptions, the RFS requires small refineries to show disproportionate harm from having to meet their obligations.

Read more on DTN:

"Trump EPA Proposes Large RFS Boost," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

"SCOTUS Sides With Ethanol on SRE Case," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @DTNeeley

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