US court rejects EPA denials of 2022 small refinery biofuel waivers
Adds biofuel industry reaction in paragraphs 8-9
July 26 (Reuters) -A federal appeals court said on Friday it rejected the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision in 2022 to deny small oil refineries temporary waivers from the nation’s biofuels blending program, and sent the matter back to the agency for review.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is a win for the refining industry, which has long opposed federal requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard that they add biofuels such as corn-based ethanol into the nation’s fuel.
The court’s opinion, and details of the decision, were sealed.
The RFS was designed to help farmers and to reduce U.S. petroleum imports, but oil refiners – particularly smaller independent ones – say the program imposes costs that put their businesses at risk. The EPA can award exemptions to small refiners if they prove the obligations cause them undue harm.
In 2022, the agency rejected a slew of such requests, triggering the legal battle that was spearheaded by refiner Sinclair Wyoming Refining Company and joined by others.
The biofuel industry, including producers of corn-based ethanol, have long fought the small refinery waiver program, arguing that it has been overused in a way that helps the oil industry but hurts American farmers.
Sinclair did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Biofuels groups said they were "extremely disappointed."
"We will evaluate our next steps, which may include seeking further review of today’s decision. Our coalition remains resolute and committed to protecting and defending the proper implementation of the RFS," the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol said in a statement on Friday.
The EPA did not immediately comment.
In a separate but related case last year, a U.S. appeals court struck down the EPA’s 2023 blanket denials of small refinery exemptions.
Reporting by Richard Valdmanis; editing by Diane Craft and Rod Nickel
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