WASHINGTON, D.C.—Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuels trade association, filed a motion to intervene in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in response to the Hunt Refining Company’s lawsuit seeking to reverse the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to reject unwarranted Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs). The motion is just the latest in a series of legal efforts Growth Energy has led to protect the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires oil refiners to blend a specific amount of biofuels into their fuel each year.
“EPA made the right call by following the data, which show there is no economic justification for exempting another oil company from its obligations under the RFS,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “Growth Energy will not let these challenges go unanswered because we know how important the RFS is to our climate, our economy, and our energy security. Past abuse of SREs destroyed demand for billions of gallons of biofuels, undermining our ability to hold down prices at the pump with clean, American renewable fuel. It’s important that the courts and EPA continue to reject efforts to roll back the clock.”
Read the full brief here.
Background
On July 14, 2023, EPA announced the denial of 26 petitions from refineries seeking SREs from their Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the RFS for one or more compliance years between 2016 and 2023. Consistent with the agency’s April and July 2022 Denials of Petitions for RFS Small Refinery Exemptions, these denials apply EPA’s current interpretation of the Clean Air Act SRE provisions, in accordance with a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit holding in Renewable Fuels Association et al. v. EPA.
