US EPA grants biofuel waivers for small refineries with backlogged applications

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began clearing up a backlog on Friday of requests for exemptions to the nation's Biofuel Laws. 63 requests were granted and 28 denied, with 77 partial approvals.

The approvals are a victory for many small refineries in the United States that have argued for years that a federal mandate to mix biofuels such as ethanol into fuel supplies is a financial burden.

According to data on the EPA website, the small refinery exemptions total 5.34 billion RINS – tradable credits for compliance generated by blending in biofuels to the nation's fuel pools – over multiple years.

According to EPA data, there were 204 pending requests dating back to 2016. The decision has left 13 applications undecided.

Sources told Thursday that the EPA plans to begin collecting public comments as early as next week about whether large refiners are required to make up for exempted gallons through a process called reallocation. The EPA declined to comment. Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw, Richard V. Editing by David Gregorio Susan Heavey Jan Harvey

(source: Reuters)