NATSO testified on October 1 before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) to revise the proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for 2026 and 2027 to account for small refinery exemptions in blending requirements.
NATSO urged EPA to deny all Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs) and to treat fuels and feedstocks originating in the United States, Mexico and Canada, as well as USMCA producers, equally if EPA retains any import barriers in the RFS.
EPA in September published a SNPRM that considers how SREs for compliance years 2023 – 2025 will be accounted for when establishing the RVOs. It also specifies how the agency plans to project SREs for 2026 and 2027 to establish RFS standards for those years. EPA is requesting public comment on whether 100 percent or 50 percent of small refinery exemptions should be reallocated for 2023-2025.
EPA reviewed 175 individual small refinery exemption petitions from 38 refineries seeking an exemption from their RFS obligations for the 2016–2024 compliance years. In August 2025 EPA granted full exemptions to 63 petitions and partial exemptions to 77 petitions. Twenty-eight petitions were denied, and seven were deemed ineligible.
NATSO testified that granting SREs punishes the fuel marketers and producers that have adjusted their business models in recent years to comport with the RFS. SREs function as a “wet blanket” over the RFS, and by re-introducing SREs back into the program, biofuel blending economics are becoming less attractive.
“SREs are predicated on the demonstrably false notion that small refineries are subject to ‘disproportionate’ economic harm caused by their RVO compliance costs,” NATSO testified. “In reality, as EPA has concluded and reaffirmed multiple times, costs associated with RIN compliance are included in the price of fuel when sold by a refiner: large or small.”
NATSO said to the extent the Agency continues to issue SREs, it should reallocate all waived obligations to avoid undermining the RVO.
NATSO further testified that if EPA delays, abandons, or otherwise scales back the proposed barriers for imported fuels and feedstocks, it must ensure that the overall RVO is upwardly adjusted by an equivalent amount to reflect the expanded pool of qualifying gallons.
NATSO will file public comments before the comment period closes Oct. 31, 2025.
Subscribe to Updates
The NATSO Foundation and NATSO provide a breadth of information created to strengthen travel plazas’ ability to meet the needs of the traveling public in an age of disruption. This includes knowledge filled blog posts, articles and publications. If you would like to receive a digest of blog post and articles directly in your inbox, please provide your name, email and the frequency of the updates you want to receive the email digest.
