Refiners seek court order forcing EPA to decide small refinery exemptions

Two oil refiners have asked a federal appeals court to order the Environmental Protection Agency to decide their hardship exemption applications by Aug. 11, warning that further delays will render the renewable fuel credits at stake in their legal victory worthless.

Alon Refining Krotz Springs and HF Sinclair filed an emergency motion with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 24, according to public court records, saying the EPA has failed to act 108 days after the court vacated the agency's denial of their small-refinery exemptions from 2024 Renewable Fuel Standard obligations. The refiners said the EPA's inaction threatens to nullify their court win by allowing compliance credits known as Renewable Identification Numbers to expire on Sept. 1.

The motion marks an escalation in a dispute over the refiners' applications for relief from federal mandates requiring fuel suppliers to blend renewable fuels into their products. The DC Circuit in April ordered the EPA to reconsider its August 2025 denials of the exemption requests, noting the agency had 90 days under the Clean Air Act to act. That deadline passed July 23 with no EPA decision, according to the filing.

"EPA's unlawful and unreasonable delay requires petitioners to take up the Court's invitation to seek further relief," the refiners said in their motion. They warned that without a decision by Aug. 11 — 21 days before the Sept. 1 compliance deadline — the value of any returned 2024 RINs "will drop precipitously."

The court ordered EPA to respond to the motion by 5 pm ET on July 28, and said the refiners must reply to the EPA's response by 5 pm July 30. HF Sinclair did not respond to a request for comment. An EPA spokesperson said the agency would not comment on ongoing litigation.

Exemption fight

The refiners are seeking to enforce the court's mandate or obtain a writ of mandamus compelling the EPA to act, and asked for an expedited briefing and a court decision by Aug. 4 at the latest. The EPA opposes the relief requested, according to the filing.

At issue are compliance credits that refiners can use to meet their obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires increasing volumes of renewable fuels in the US transportation fuel supply. Small refineries — those producing less than 75,000 b/d — can petition for hardship exemptions if they can demonstrate that compliance would cause disproportionate economic harm.

In an April 7 decision, the DC Circuit accepted the refiners' argument that "the clock is ticking for them to obtain meaningful relief," noting the value of credits "will decrease significantly" as the compliance deadline approaches. The court expedited its review and issued its mandate on April 24, expecting the EPA would have "sufficient time to act well before" Sept. 1, even if it took the full 90 days allowed by statute.

But the court also warned it could intervene if the EPA "fails to lawfully adjudicate the petitions on remand," the refiners noted in their motion.

The refiners said they have made "every effort to expedite these cases and avoid irreparable harm," but the EPA "is poised to nullify all of that by dragging its feet on a decision it could've made months ago."

Under EPA policy, if the agency grants exemptions on remand, it would return any 2024 RINs the refiners used to satisfy their 2024 obligations. But those credits can only be used for 2024 or 2025 compliance obligations.

The refiners argued the EPA has violated both the court's remand directive and the Clean Air Act's 90-day deadline for deciding exemption petitions. They said mandamus relief is warranted because the EPA has flouted a "clear duty" and there is no adequate alternative remedy that would provide timely relief before the credits expire.

"Only mandamus relief will make petitioners whole," they said, noting the Clean Air Act's citizen-suit provision requires 60 days' advance notice before filing suit — time that does not exist before the Sept. 1 deadline.