EPA Approval Of RFS Refinery Waivers Raises Thorny Legal Questions

EPA’s major policy shift that allows for dozens of full or partial waivers from renewable fuel standard (RFS) biofuel blending mandates is raising difficult legal questions about the agency’s rationale that differs sharply from Biden-era practice, as EPA is redefining the “disproportionate” harm required to win a waiver. Central to the new policy , announced Aug. 22, is a new interpretation of the statutory term “disproportionate economic hardship” (DEH) that is required for small refineries to win waivers from their...