The EPA held a virtual public hearing on October 1, 2025, to gather feedback on its Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM). The proposal outlines several options for reallocating RFS RVOs that were previously waived under the Small Refinery Exemption (SRE) program. Released on September 16, the SNPRM invites public input through an open comment period that runs until October 31.
The goal of the SNPRM is to update the proposed RFS RVOs for 2026 and 2027 (originally introduced in the “Set 2” rulemaking) to account for SRE decisions issued by the agency in August. The “Set 2” proposal, first published in June, proposed a total 2026 RVO of 24.02 billion RINs, an increase of nearly 8% over the 2025 standard. For 2027, the proposed RVO rises to 24.46 billion RINs, representing an additional 2% increase from the prior year.
Within the SNPRM, the EPA is considering several reallocation options, including full (100%) and partial (50%) reallocation of SREs granted in full or in part for 2023 and 2024, as well as projected exemptions for 2025. The agency is also requesting comments on alternative reallocation levels (25%, 75%, or 0%) to inform its final decision.
The EPA continues to review feedback from renewable fuel industry participants and other stakeholders. The comment period remains open through October 31, with a final rulemaking and agency response expected to follow thereafter.
For context, on August 22 the EPA issued decisions on 175 SRE petitions submitted by 38 refineries, covering RFS compliance years 2016 through 2024. Of those, 63 petitions received full exemptions, 77 were granted partial exemptions, 28 were denied, and 7 were deemed ineligible.
The full legal text of the SNPRM can be accessed here.
Biofuel Industry Comments
Jonathan Snoeberger – Regulatory Compliance Manager – Louis Dreyfus Company
Snoeberger voiced strong support for the EPA’s proposal to reallocate SRE volumes within the RFS. Snoeberger emphasized that full reallocation of waived volumes is essential to restore integrity to the RFS and maintain stability in the RIN market. He stated that years of excessive SRE approvals have undermined the program’s intent by reducing renewable fuel blending requirements, harming farmers, biofuel producers, and investors in clean energy. He also urged the EPA to reject any new SRE petitions submitted after the 10th Circuit Court’s ruling, arguing that such filings are intended to bypass legal precedent and delay compliance stating “We also urge the EPA to exclude any new SRA petitions filed after the 10th Circuit Court’s ruling from eligibility. These last minute filings are clearly designed to circumvent the court’s decision and delay compliance. EPA must stand by the ruling that exemptions must be consistent with continuous hardship and cannot be granted arbitrarily.” He also stated that “While not the focus of this supplemental proposal, LDC reiterates its support of the EPA’s proposal to discount re-generation by 50% for imported feedstocks.”
Kurt Kovarik – Vice President of Federal Affairs – Clean Fuels Alliance America
Kovarik commended the EPA for proposing to add a supplemental SRE reallocation volume to the 2026 – 2027 volumes and for recently taking action on SREs. He stated “As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the RFS, it is past time for the smaller refiners, who are often larger than the majority of our members, to come into compliance with the program.” He later urged the EPA “to adopt the complete reallocation for SREs granted for 2023 through 2025, including any petitions received before the rule is final and project SREs going forward using an up-to-date average” and further stated that “We need 100% reallocation to reinvigorate operations and planned growth and showing the volumes proposed are realized in the final rule will send a strong signal.”
Josh Gackle – Chairman and Farmer in ND – American Soybean Association
Gackle emphasized the critical role of soybean oil in supporting the biomass-based diesel industry and strengthening rural economies. He expressed strong support for the EPA’s supplemental proposed rule on SRE reallocations, noting that reallocating waived volumes would enhance market stability for biofuels without negatively impacting future blending obligations. He highlighted the importance of this action amid declining soybean export demand stating “In my home state of North Dakota farmers are being severely impacted by the lack of soybean orders for export to the Pacific Northwest.” He later urged the EPA to finalize a strong rule for 2026 and 2027 RVOs alongside full reallocation of approved SRE waivers saying “EPA’s strong proposal for 2026 and 2027 renewable volume obligations paired with full reallocation of approved SRE waivers would send a signal to the domestic biodiesel industry that would increase production, prioritize domestic feedstocks and spur domestic soybean market growth.”
Grant Kimberley – Executive Director – Iowa Biodiesel Board
Kimberly spoke on behalf of Iowa’s biodiesel producers, farmers, and others in the biofuel value chain. He stressed that the future of the biodiesel industry and the integrity of the RFS depend on the EPA’s full reallocation of all SREs. Kimberly warned about anything less than 100% reallocation “Every quarter that passes without full reallocation and a final RVO is another lost market opportunity for biodiesel producers. Iowa is home to several independent biodiesel producers and I want in many others and I want you to understand that they have been brought to their knees this year. Times are hard, and the clock is ticking for recovery of this American energy industry. If delays go on for much longer, it jeopardizes the future of many of these facilities.” Kimberly concluded by urging the EPA to act quickly, stating that full reallocation of all refinery exemptions is essential to uphold the RFS, restore market certainty, and sustain America’s biofuel and agricultural industries.
Roy Strom – President and CEO – W2Fuel
Strom expressed strong support for the EPA’s proposal to include a 100% reallocation option for SREs in the 2026 and 2027 RVOs. He emphasized that full reallocation is essential to maintaining compliance with the RFS, improving market transparency, and ensuring stability for independent biodiesel producers. Strong warned that failing to reallocate SRE volumes reduces overall biofuel demand, depresses RIN prices, and encourages speculative market behavior. He stated “In 2019, I appeared before EPA twice to testify on the havoc brought on by the massive SREs that were granted under Administrator Pruitt in 2018 and 2019. I testified then that the failure to reallocate and account for these SREs would shut me down, which it did. It was only after EPA stemmed the tide of these SREs in 2020 that we were able to reopen. As I testified in 2019, granting SREs without reallocating the volume reduces the overall demand, reduces RIN prices, and encourages short-sighted market speculation based on and past SREs. By reallocating these volumes to ensure full compliance, there is no reduction in demand. Prices are more transparent, and it limits the advantages of short selling.” He urged the EPA to adopt the 100% reallocation option in the final rule to prevent a recurrence of the market disruptions seen in 2018 and 2019.
Geoffrey Dietz – Senior Director of Federal Government Affairs – RNG Coalition
Dietz expressed strong support for the EPA’s efforts to address the impact of SREs through its Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. He agreed with the agency’s assessment that failing to address the increase in carryover RINs from the 2023–2025 SREs could reduce renewable fuel demand in 2026 and 2027. He urged the EPA to finalize its 100% reallocation proposal, stating that anything less lacks factual or legal support. He argued that “While we appreciate EPA’s efforts to provide for public input through this supplemental notice, it cannot provide such data in support of a final rule as it must be vetted by the public. Setting aside any procedural requirements, substantively there’s no basis to provide for less than 100% reallocation. As EPA acknowledges the influx of carryover RINs effectively would allow RINs reflecting production in earlier years, such as 2023, to be used to meet the volume requirements in later years. This is not authorized by statute which limits the life of credits to 12 months. This same limitation applies to cellulosic biofuels. While EPA claims it is basing its authority to reallocate the volumes on its set authority, the obligation to reallocate these volumes stems from its duty to ensure the volumes” and “this is a distinct directive from Congress and there’s no justification to treat cellulosic biofuels any differently than any other category.”
Ken Gomeringer – President – United Steelworkers
Gomeringer shared concerns about the EPA’s proposed rule to increase RVOs and SREs. Representing refinery workers in New Jersey and Delaware, Gomeringer emphasized the potential economic and employment impacts of the proposal on refinery workers and local communities. He stated that he had witnessed firsthand how compliance costs have affected refinery operations and cautioned that the current proposal sets the most stringent and costly requirements since the RFS program began, arguing that it “ignores market realities” and unfairly increases burdens on merchant refiners. “We have serious concerns about the impact this is gonna have on our employers. Back in 2009, the Delaware City Refinery was shut down. So first hand I experienced as some of my other brothers and sisters did that still work at the Delaware City Refinery, the economic impact and hardships that caused our families, the community, the state, you know, and also, you know, supply and demand for fuels and security in that area. Just, you know, wish that we would really take a look at when we’re looking at this, this law, the impact it has on the merchant refiners. You know, don’t have anything against biofuels [and] support the corn farmers and all that kind of stuff. But, you know, there’s also that third part there that the refineries and the merchant refineries and its not just the companies, it’s the people that it impacts if we lose these good family sustaining jobs. Jobs that allow us to send our kids to college and those types of things.” He concluded by asking the agency to carefully weigh these impacts to avoid jeopardizing good, family-sustaining jobs in the refining sector.
The EPA’s October 1, 2025, public hearing underscored strong industry support for 100% reallocation of small refinery exemptions to uphold the Renewable Fuel Standard’s integrity and stabilize biofuel markets. Biofuel producers, farm organizations, and renewable energy advocates emphasized that full reallocation is vital to prevent demand loss, restore market confidence, and protect rural economies. Refinery representatives, however, cautioned that higher compliance costs could strain operations and impact refinery jobs.
How RINSTAR can help
As the EPA reviews public input, the final rule will need to balance renewable fuel growth with economic and energy stability across the sector. In this evolving compliance environment, RINSTAR helps obligated parties, producers, and traders stay ahead by offering reliable RIN tracking, automated reporting, and full transparency to support compliance confidence under the updated RFS framework.
📩 Have questions? Reach out at services@cfch.com or schedule a demo to see how RINSTAR can support your compliance journey.
