August 31, 2026 Decisions on Petitions for RFS Small Refinery Exemptions
Summary
On August 31, 2026, EPA announced its decisions on 34 individual small refinery exemption petitions from 34 refineries seeking an exemption from their Renewable Fuel Standard obligations for the 2025 compliance year. In consultation with the Department of Energy, EPA reviewed all the information submitted by each individual refinery in support of its petition. After careful consideration of all statutory factors and the information submitted by the refineries, EPA is granting full (100 percent) exemptions to 18 petitions, granting partial (50 percent) exemptions to 11 petitions, denying three petitions, and determining two petitions to be ineligible.
This document articulates EPA’s interpretation of section 211(o)(9) of the Clean Air Act and EPA’s authority with respect to SRE petitions. As required by CAA section 211(o)(9), EPA’s final actions on the pending SRE petitions are based on the legal and factual analysis presented herein, after consulting with DOE, and considering the DOE Small Refinery Study and “other economic factors.”
EPA is also reissuing a partial exemption for one petition for the 2024 compliance year that was originally issued in the August 3, 2026 SRE Decisions Action. This document also explains how EPA will implement SRE decisions when an exemption is granted.
The decisions in this document are final Agency actions.