EPA Hearing Pits Biofuels Industry Against Refiners Over 770 Million RINs

Seven hundred seventy million RINs sit at the center of an EPA reallocation fight that drew unified industry testimony at a virtual hearing Wednesday, as renewable fuel groups pressed the agency to restore volumes wiped out by recent small refinery exemptions.

The Environmental Protection Agency's proposed reallocation plan, announced last month, would return the exempted renewable fuel volumes to the 2026 and 2027 obligations. Wednesday's hearing gave stakeholders a formal venue to argue over how — and how fast — the agency should finalize it.

What did the Renewable Fuels Association say?

RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper testified that his group still opposes the exemptions themselves, but argued EPA must fully account for the obligations those exemptions eliminated. He backed the agency's approach without qualification.

"RFA strongly supports EPA's proposal to reallocate 100 percent of the additional 770 million RINs exempted beyond the volume anticipated in the Set 2 rule," Cooper said.

His warning centered on the RIN market mechanics. Without full reallocation, he said, "the RINs freed up by these exemptions can be carried forward to satisfy future obligations, displacing demand for newly produced renewable fuels, and eroding the historic 2026 and 2027 standards established by this administration."

Cooper also urged EPA to finalize the rule quickly, framing it against current fuel market conditions. "At a time when gasoline and diesel supplies are tightening, refiners are enjoying strong profit margins, and Americans are still paying too much at the pump, we should be encouraging greater use of affordable, American-made renewable fuels," he said. "Full reallocation is essential to protecting the economic and consumer benefits the RFS was designed to deliver."

The takeaway: RFA wants 100% reallocation, finalization as soon as possible, and no carry-forward of freed RINs.

How did other trade groups weigh in?

The American Coalition for Ethanol's Brian Jennings testified in support, saying the plan would "support the statutory purpose of the RFS to increase blending year-over-year and help drive demand for E15 and E85."

Jennings also turned the hardship argument — the legal basis refiners use to seek exemptions — back on the refining sector. "Let's be clear. It is not hardship for refiners, who are posting record profit margins, to blend low-cost renewable fuel into their expensive petroleum products," he stated. "By contrast, American farmers have struggled to make ends meet for the last five years and are experiencing hardship. Until this reallocation is final and complete, exempted RVOs represent an economic drain on U.S. farmers."

Clean Fuels Alliance America sent three witnesses: VP of Federal Affairs Kurt Kovarik, Regulatory Affairs Director Kate Shenk, and Governing Board Chair Kent Engelbrecht.

What's the deadline the industry wants?

Kovarik set the clock explicitly. "We strongly support EPA's proposal to reallocate the gallons equally to 2026 and 2027 volume obligations. We ask the agency to finalize this supplemental rule as soon as possible – certainly by the end of the year – to ensure that the robust volumes for 2026 and 2027 are not eroded by small refinery exemptions, past or future," he said.

He tied the stakes to hard capital commitments. "U.S. companies throughout the biodiesel, renewable diesel, and SAF supply chain have announced new investments in capacity since earlier this year, based on the robust RFS volumes."

That point matters for built-versus-announced accounting: the announced capacity additions Kovarik cited rest on the assumption that the 2026-2027 volumes hold, and SREs — past or future — could undercut them.

The sector's position is unified: 770 million RINs, fully reallocated, finalized by year-end. The milestone that decides what happens next is EPA's final signature on the supplemental rule.