Court forces U.S. EPA to reconsider three refinery biofuel waivers

In Washington, Reuters reports that a federal appeals court has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider 2016 hardship waivers granted to Holly Frontier’s Woods Cross and Cheyenne refineries as well as CVR Energy’s Wynewood refinery following legal challenges by a consortium of biofuel groups. The court said that the rules say waivers issued after 2010 must be extensions and not new exemptions and the three refineries didn’t apply for waivers in 2015. The court’s ruling could have impacts on other waivers, opening the door for reviews and potentially repeals which could in turn boost RIN prices.