EPA Proposes Reallocating 100% of Small Refinery Exemptions to Protect Renewable Fuel Volumes
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in Peosta, Iowa, on October 13 that the agency is proposing to reallocate 100 percent of the small refinery exemption volumes it granted in August, adding them back into refiners' renewable fuel blending obligations for future years so the exemptions do not reduce overall demand for ethanol and other renewable fuels.
In August, EPA granted exemptions to 29 small refineries — 18 full and 11 partial — totaling about 1.76 billion Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). The proposal covers about 770 million of those credits and offers two options: split them evenly between the 2026 and 2027 compliance years, or assign them entirely to 2027. Public comments are open through December 4.
Zeldin announced the proposal at the Dubuque County Farm Bureau after touring an ethanol plant in Dyersville. The Iowa Corn Growers Association said the move sends a strong market signal to farmers and biofuel producers, and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig called full reallocation an important step toward certainty. The American Petroleum Institute criticized the proposal.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Big River Resources乙醇工厂内部。摄影：Elizabeth Warren，CC BY 2.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons / Photo: Inside the Big River Resources ethanol plant. Credit: Elizabeth Warren, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
