[20210628]LSB10418_最高法院裁定小型炼油厂在失效后仍有资格获得可再生燃料标准豁免.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Supreme Court Holds Small Refineries Remain Eligible for Renewable Fuel Standard Exemptions After Lapse Updated June 28, 2021 In HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining v. Renewable Fuels Association, the Supreme Court held that small refineries may receive small refinery exemptions (SREs) from the renewable fuel standard (RFS) even if they have not received an exemption for every year of the program. Under the RFS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires refineries and importers of non-renewable fuels to blend a certain amount of renewable fuel into transportation fuel (or to obtain credits that fulfill this requirement). Congress included exemption provisions in the RFS for small refineries, allowing those refineries to petition EPA “at any time” “for an extension of the exemption . . . for the reason of disproportionate economic hardship.” These exemptions have garnered attention from stakeholders and Congress as the number of exemptions sought and granted increased significantly during the Trump Administration. Several renewable fuels producers challenged EPAs decisions to gr