Court Asks US for Update on Biofuel Quota Timing

December 09, 2025

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by Dole Martin (Argus Media) A US court told President Donald Trump's administration today to provide an update within a week on its plans for finalizing long-delayed biofuel blend mandates.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must file an update "briefly detailing the agency's progress toward finalizing and promulgating the 2026 renewable fuel standards" within seven days, a three-judge panel on the US District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Monday.

The court added that the government should provide "an estimated time frame for issuing those standards" if possible.

Under the Renewable Fuel Standard, EPA requires oil refiners and importers to annually blend different types of biofuels or buy credits from those that do. The Trump administration — after proposing major changes to how the program treats biofuel imports and exempts some small refiners — is now months behind schedule on finalizing new quotas. Agency decisions around the program are highly influential for biofuel production margins, crop demand and ultimately retail fuel prices.

The Trump administration told a separate DC court in September that it expected to finalize new biofuel quotas "this winter 2025-2026", but that was before a partial government shutdown sidelined many federal workers. EPA was supposed to provide another update in November, but that court gave the government more time to respond in civil cases because of the funding lapse.

The DC Circuit case involves a Delek refinery and an HF Sinclair refinery that argue they were unfairly deemed ineligible for exemptions from 2024 blend mandates because they processed too much crude the year before. They pushed for a quicker case, noting that the credits EPA could compensate them with will soon be worthless. EPA's current policy is to return credits to refiners that complied with past mandates but are given retroactive exemptions, but these credits can only be used the year they were generated or the subsequent compliance year.

The Monday order notes that the DC Circuit is curious about EPA's progress since the timing of new biofuel mandates will impact the date when credits from 2024 expire. READ MORE

Related articles

Court directs EPA to provide update on status of 2026 RFS RVOs within 7 days (Biomass Magazine)
Refining companies claim EPA misapplied renewable fuel standards (Bloomberg Law)
Trump administration unlikely to finalize 2026 biofuel quotas this year, sources say (Reuters)
EPA targets Q1 2026 for release of final rule setting 2026, 2027 RFS RVOs (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

Excerpt from Biomass Magazine: The order was issued as part of pending lawsuits filed by HF Sinclair Refining & Marketing LLC and HF Sinclair Parco Refining LLC and Alon Refining Krtoz Springs Inc. in September challenging the U.S. EPA’s Aug. 22 decision to deny a small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions filed by the companies. HF Sinclair is seeking a waiver of the 2024 RFS blending obligations for the HF Sinclair Parco Refining LLC facility located in Sinclair, Wyoming, while Alon Refining Krotz Springs is seeking a waiver of the 2024 RFS blending obligations for its refinery in Krotz Springs, Louisiana. The EPA in August declared both petitions ineligible. The court consolidated the two cases after they were filed.

In the Dec. 8 order, the court directs the EPA to file a status report briefly detailing the agency’s progress toward finalizing and promulgating the 2026 RVOs that will determine the expiration date of the 2024 renewable identification numbers (RINs) that are of issue in the case. If practicable, the EPA is also directed to provide the court with an estimated time frame for issuing the 2026 RVOs.

The EPA in June released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to set 2026 and 2027 RVOs. The rulemaking also proposes to alter the RFS to limit the participation of imported fuels and feedstocks, eliminate electricity from the RFS program, and reduce the 2025 cellulosic RVO. A comment period on the proposed rule was open through Aug. 8.

The agency in September released a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) that considers several options for reallocating RVOs waived under the SRE program. A public comment period was on the SNPRM was open through Oct. 31.

As of Dec. 9, the EPA has not yet delivered a final proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget for interagency review. As a result, a final rulemaking is not expected to be issued until 2026. READ MORE

Excerpt from Bloomberg Law: Refinery operators and marketers are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s denial of a requested waiver from renewable fuel standards, alleging the decision violated the law and was based on an incorrect interpretation of an agency regulation.

Alon Refining Krotz Springs Inc., HF Sinclair Refining & Marketing LLC, and HF Sinclair Parco Refining LLC argue the EPA’s denial of a small refinery exemption was incorrectly based on data from 2023 instead of the proper calendar year of 2024. That violated the Clean Air Act by not complying with what “a calendar year” means in the relevant statute, the petitioners told ... READ MORE

Excerpt from Reuters:

EPA still reviewing comments; no end-of-year decision expected
Delay folds quotas into broader oil-agriculture policy talks
Uncertainty complicates contracts, hedging, and investment decisions

Dec 12 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is not expected to finalize 2026 biofuel-blending quotas before the end of this year, according to three sources familiar with the situation, extending uncertainty over a policy closely watched by the rival oil and agricultural sectors.

The slowdown would throw one of the administration's most consequential energy policy choices into next year and folds the highly anticipated quotas into a growing cluster of interlocking decisions the White House is weighing on biofuels policy.

Together, the moves have raised expectations the administration may look to strike a broader - albeit elusive - agreement between rival oil and agricultural interests.

The Environmental Protection Agency, which administers biofuels policy, has scheduled meetings with stakeholders on the quota rule early next, two sources told Reuters, a sign that the issue will be pushed into next year.

A third source also said the EPA's decision was unlikely by the end of this year.

The sources spoke about the matter on condition of anonymity.

The EPA told Reuters it was still reviewing public comments on the volume requirements and declined to offer any guidance on timing. The volume mandates are administered under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the federal program that mandates the blending of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel into the U.S. fuel supply.

A delay in finalizing the mandates is important because fuel makers, farmers and commodity traders use them to lock in supply contracts, hedge volatile crop and energy markets, and justify investments in new production capacity.

Without clarity on next year's quotas, companies say they are forced to hold back on deals and delay spending decisions that shape biofuel output and margins. READ MORE

Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: The U.S. EPA currently expects to issue a final rule setting 2026 and 2027 Renewable Fuel Standard renewable volume obligations (RVOs) during the first quarter of 2026, according to a notice filed with the U.S Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Dec. 15.

The notice was filed in response to a Dec. 8 order issued by the court directing the agency to provide within seven days an update on the current status of its proposal to set 2026 and 2027 RVOs.

The court issued the order as part of ongoing proceedings regarding pending lawsuits filed by HF Sinclair Refining & Marketing LLC and HF Sinclair Parco Refining LLC and Alon Refining Krtoz Springs Inc. in September challenging the U.S. EPA’s Aug. 22 decision to deny a small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions filed by the companies. HF Sinclair is seeking a waiver of the 2024 RFS blending obligations for the HF Sinclair Parco Refining LLC facility located in Sinclair, Wyoming, while Alon Refining Krotz Springs is seeking a waiver of the 2024 RFS blending obligations for its refinery in Krotz Springs, Louisiana. The EPA in August declared both petitions ineligible. The court consolidated the two cases after they were filed.

In the Dec. 8 order, the court directed the EPA to file a status report briefly detailing the agency’s progress toward finalizing and promulgating the 2026 RVOs that will determine the expiration date of the 2024 renewable identification numbers (RINs) that are of issue in the case. If practicable, the EPA was also directed to provide the court with an estimated time frame for issuing the 2026 RVOs.

The EPA in June released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to set 2026 and 2027 RVOs. The rulemaking, referred to by the agency as the “Set 2” rule, also proposes to alter the RFS to limit the participation of imported fuels and feedstocks, eliminate electricity from the RFS program, and reduce the 2025 cellulosic RVO. A comment period on the proposed rule was open through Aug. 8.

In its Dec. 15 court filing, the EPA said it “is currently working to finalize the renewable fuel standards for the 2026 and 2027 compliance years,” noting that more than 2,000 public comments were filed with the agency in response to the Set 2 proposal and Set 2 supplemental proposal.

“EPA is actively working on responding to comments, coordinating with other federal agencies, and resolving technical issues associated with the final rulemaking,” the agency wrote. “This rulemaking requires the resolution of complex issues involving the volumes of renewable fuel required for 2026 and 2027 and an analysis of those volumes in a Regulatory Impact Analysis.”

The EPA also explains that prior to finalizing the Set 2 rulemaking, agency “staff must develop options for agency decisionmakers, present those options, and receive direction for the final rulemaking. The EPA must then implement such decisions and draft the final rule preamble, Regulatory Impact Analysis and responses to comments consistent with that direction. The drafted language must undergo review and revision prior to being finalized for transmittal to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and dissemination to other federal agencies for inter-agency review.”

During the OMB review process, the EPA said it continues to work with other federal agencies on the rulemaking prior to finalization.

According to the EPA, it has not yet submitted the Set 2 rule to OMB for interagency review. The agency also cautioned the timeframe for OMB review is not controlled by the EPA.

The notice points to other statutorily mandated consultations that are also outside of the EPA’s control, including work to coordinate with the USDA and the U.S. Department of Energy on its determination of the volume requirements consistent with the Clean Air Act and consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service regarding Endangered Species Act obligations.

Given the requirements described by EPA in the notice, the agency said it expects to issue the final set rule during the first quarter of 2026. The EPA also noted that if the rulemaking is not complete before Jan. 31, 2026, the 2025 RFS statutory deadline would be delayed from March 31, 2026, to June 1, 2026. READ MORE