Small Refinery Exemption Litigation Update
Podcast - An Update on the Renewable Fuel Standard Final Rule
Welcome to Industrials Regulatory News and Trends. In this regular bulletin, DLA Piper lawyers provide concise updates on key developments in the industrials sector to help you navigate the ever-changing business, legal, and...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 13, 2025, issued a proposed rule, "Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: Standards for 2026 and 2027, Partial Waiver of 2025 Cellulosic Biofuel Volume Requirement, and...more
The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine the applicable volume requirements for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for years after those specified in the statute. On June 17,...more
On June 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published its proposed “Set 2” rule under the Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”) program (the “Set 2 Rule”). The Set 2 Rule proposes renewable volume obligations...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a landmark rule revising the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. This proposal – termed the “Set 2” Rule - marks the 20th anniversary of the RFS program and reflects...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule on March 14, 2025, extending the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance reporting deadline for the 2024 compliance year. 90 Fed. Reg. 12109. As reported in...more
If past is prologue, while the second Trump administration is expected to take a number of actions that could lead to increased volatility with respect to renewable identification number (“RIN”) prices just as the first did,...more
On January 8, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $6 million in funding for three projects that will advance biofuel...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule on December 12, 2024, that would partially waive the 2024 cellulosic biofuel volume requirement and revise the associated percentage standard under the...more
On September 18, 2024, the Department of Treasury (the “Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) (1) issued proposed regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) providing guidance to taxpayers on the Alternative...more
On August 14, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) released a redacted copy of its opinion in Sinclair Wyoming Refining Co. LLC v. EPA, in which the D.C. Circuit...more
The Transportation Energy Institute (“TEI”) issued a July 25th report titled: Balancing the Benefits of Biofuels: The Economics of U.S. Crop-Based Fuel Production (“Report”). The Report describes itself as a...more
In this episode of our "An Energized Exchange" podcast series by our Energy & Natural Resources Industry Sector Group, attorneys Andy Kriha and Susan Lafferty delve into the intricacies of ongoing litigation surrounding small...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 3, 2024, that it has rescheduled its public webinar to discuss the implementation of the Biogas Regulatory Reform Rule (BRRR) provisions promulgated as part of...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), which administers the federal renewable fuels program known as the Renewable Fuel Standards (“RFS”), has been grappling with the best approach to incorporating electric...more
Confusion persists among industry stakeholders regarding the correct structuring approach to renewables. The truth is that renewables traverse sectors and is not a sector itself. Electrical power generated through sustainable...more
The Environmental Protection Agency issued its final rule establishing biofuel volume requirements for 2023 to 2025 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program on June 21. The Rule aims to reduce the United States’...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), which administers the federal renewable fuels program known as the Renewable Fuel Standards (“RFS”), has long considered the potential impact of electric vehicles on the RFS....more
Last week, President Biden delivered the State of the Union and outlined his vision for the U.S. energy transition. Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) responded to a request from Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-TN),...more
On December 1, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its proposed “set” rule for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program. In addition to setting the volume and percentage standards for renewable fuels...more
On 1 December 2022, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a major new regulatory component of the Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS) to recognize electricity produced from biomass and used to fuel electric...more
The $369 billion Inflation Reduction Act (the “Act”) enacted in August 2022 expanded and extended numerous tax credits and incentive programs for development of clean energy projects. The biogas industry is one sector...more
Recently the EPA released a proposed rule establishing Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), while also denying more than 60 small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions and proposing other...more
On June 25, 2021, the Supreme Court decided HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining, LLC v. Renewable Fuels Association, et al., Slip Op. 20-472 (June 25, 2021), which concerned small refiners’ eligibility for hardship exemptions...more
Growing environmental awareness by consumers and governments has led to the proliferation of carbon and environmental attribute markets. Businesses in virtually every industry now participate in government mandated markets,...more