EPA wants to hear your thoughts on the full range of options available for US biofuel allocation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a proposal on Tuesday for

Reallocating Biofuel Blending Obligations

The Small Refinery Exemption Program offers two options: 50% or 100%.

The agency will also ask for comments on any other possible volumes such as 25% or 75%.

It is likely that the proposal will not narrow down options, and this will prolong the latest conflict between Big Oil versus Big Farm about how to handle waived obligations for biofuel blends. Both industries are vying to influence U.S. agricultural and energy policy.

The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requires refiners either to blend billions gallons of biofuels each year into the nation's fuel pool or purchase credits, called RINs, from those who already do.

It also allows for smaller refiners who can prove that the requirements will cause them financial hardship to apply for waivers through the Small Refinery Exemption program (SRE).

The EPA cleared a backlog in August of over 170 SRE requests that dated back to 2016. This was a major move, which required the EPA to develop a plan for accounting for waived commitments.

However, the EPA only had to present a plan for reallocating exempted gallons that date back to 2023 because RINs from previous years are already expired. (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw, Editing by Margueritachoy)

(source: Reuters)