Biden administration to issue decision on small-refinery biofuel mix exemptions
(Reuters) - The Biden administration on Friday will disclose its decision on offering exemptions to small refineries that are mandated to mix biofuels into their fuel mix, the U.S. environmental regulator said in a statement.
Under U.S. renewable energy laws, oil refiners must blend billions of gallons of biofuels into the nation's fuel mix or buy tradable credits from those that do. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can, however, award exemptions to some small refiners if they prove that the obligations cause them undue harm.
President Joe Biden has made it a key tenet of his term to set the United States on track to reduce carbon emissions in the fight against climate change, with a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Biden's administration is yet to extend a waiver to any refinery, in stark contrast to former President Donald Trump's government, which granted 34 exemptions to oil refiners for the 2017 compliance year alone.
There are 22 small-refinery petitions pending for compliance years 2021 and 2022, and one pending petition for 2023, according to the EPA's website.
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