Court rejects petitions for rehearing en banc of SRE ruling

April 7, 2020

BY Erin Krueger

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected two petitions April 7 filed by Wynnewood Refining and HollyFrontier March 24 requesting a rehearing en banc of the court’s Jan. 24 ruling striking down three small refinery exemptions (SREs) that had been approved by the U.S. EPA.

The court’s Jan. 24 ruling, if implemented nationally, would significantly lower the number of small refineries eligible to apply for exemptions to their Renewable Fuel Standard blending requirements. This is because the court ruled that the EPA cannot extend exemptions to any small refineries whose earlier, temporary exemptions had lapsed. The court also found that the EPA abused its discretion in failing to explain how the agency could conclude that a small refinery might suffer a disproportionate economic hardship when the agency has simultaneously consistently maintained that costs for renewable identification numbers (RINs) are passed through and recovered by those same refineries.

“Both the HollyFrontier Petition and the Wynnewood petition were transmitted to all non-recused judges of the court who are in regular service,” said the court in an April 7 filing. “As no member of the panel and non-recused judge in regular active service requested that the court be polled, the requests for rehearing en banc are denied pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 35(f).”

Advertisement

The court ruling stems from a May 2018 challenge brought against EPA by the American Coalition for Ethanol, Renewable Fuels Association, the National Corn Growers Association, and National Farmers Union.

Advertisement

Related Stories

The U.S. EPA on July 8 hosted virtual public hearing to gather input on the agency’s recently released proposed rule to set 2026 and 2027 RFS RVOs. Members of the biofuel industry were among those to offer testimony during the event.

Read More

The USDA’s Risk Management Agency is implementing multiple changes to the Camelina pilot insurance program for the 2026 and succeeding crop years. The changes will expand coverage options and provide greater flexibility for producers.

Read More

President Trump on July 4 signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The legislation extends and updates the 45Z credit and revives a tax credit benefiting small biodiesel producers but repeals several other bioenergy-related tax incentives.

Read More

CARB on June 27 announced amendments to the state’s LCFS regulations will take effect beginning on July 1. The amended regulations were approved by the agency in November 2024, but implementation was delayed due to regulatory clarity issues.

Read More

SAF Magazine and the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative announced the preliminary agenda for the North American SAF Conference and Expo, being held Sept. 22-24 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Read More

Upcoming Events

Sign up for our e-newsletter!

Advertisement

Advertisement