Overview
- The EPA approved exemptions for 29 small refineries on Sept. 1–2, 2026, issuing full relief to 18 facilities and partial relief to 11, while denying three petitions and finding two ineligible.
- The exemptions total roughly 1.76 billion ethanol-equivalent renewable identification numbers, far above the agency’s earlier estimate of about 990 million for the 2025 year.
- The agency said it will propose by the end of October to reassign the waived obligation to larger refiners in the 2026 and 2027 compliance years, and that proposal must pass through formal notice, comment, and rulemaking before it would bind other companies.
- Market and political reactions were immediate: RIN credit prices jumped about 16% after the announcement, farm-state leaders and biofuel groups warned the waivers could cut demand for ethanol and crops in places like Iowa, and oil trade groups said the package worsened regulatory uncertainty.
- The decision revives a long-running conflict over the Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires refiners to blend set volumes of biofuels or buy RINs and allows small refineries to seek exemptions if they show disproportionate economic hardship; the outcome of the proposed reallocation will shape demand for biofuels, farm incomes, and compliance costs ahead of the midterm elections.