Advanced Biofuels Association seeks preliminary injunction against EPA over SREs

In Washington, the Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA) filed a motion on Wednesday for a preliminary injunction to prevent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler from granting any additional small refinery exemptions (SREs) to release obligated parties from compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) until the resolution of its pending lawsuit against EPA.

ABFA’s lawsuit against EPA challenges its methodology for granting these exemptions, arguing the Agency more than doubled the number of exempted refineries by illegally changing its petition review process behind closed doors. ABFA filed the motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where its current lawsuit is pending with briefing on the merits scheduled to conclude on June 12, 2019.