Clean Fuels commends EPA for proposing to ensure that the RFS volumes it finalizes for upcoming years are not eroded by small refinery exemptions. Clean Fuels and its members will work to ensure that the final RFS volumes for 2026 and 2027 fully support continued growth in biomass-based diesel production and provide real value for farmers.

Clean Fuels thanked Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) for examining legislation in a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing. The bipartisan Renewable Fuels for Ocean-Going Vessels Act would open new markets for U.S. farmers and biodiesel renewable diesel producers by allowing them to preserve RFS credits for fuel used in marine markets.

Clean Fuels began carefully evaluating EPA’s grant to 38 small refineries of full or partial exemptions from compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standards for 2016-2024. EPA announced a new framework for granting small refinery exemption petitions and applied it to more than 175 pending petitions, including previously denied petitions.
EPA indicated it will propose a supplemental rule in the coming month to consider reallocating the associated RIN gallons and address the impact on the recently proposed 2026-2027 RFS volumes. Clean Fuels looks forward to working with EPA to quickly finalize this proposal, which will delay the finalization of the 2026 and 2027 rule.

The proposal is a welcome signal to U.S. farmers and biofuel producers, and we are ready to meet these higher volumes with domestically produced fuel. We ask that the final rule sustain the volumes as proposed to ensure that our capacity is fully utilized. These volumes are readily achievable, based on current domestic production and investments that have been made.