EPA already at work on 2026-forward RFS rules

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started work on the second set of rules for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), expected to span multiple years beginning in 2026, a spokesperson said today.

The rule will likely establish renewable volume targets for multiple years under the RFS, although the exact timeframe has not been confirmed, EPA deputy office director Ben Hengst said today at the Argus North American Biofuels, LCFS and Carbon Summit in Monterey, California. Work on the incoming rule was originally not expected to begin until early 2025.

Updated analysis, especially regarding advanced biofuels and feedstocks, will inform new rulemaking, as well as the inclusion of regulatory changes intended to improve the program's implementation, Hengst said.

Unprecedented growth in US biofuels imports led overall advanced biofuel supply in 2023 to far surpass EPA projections. But biomass-based diesel volumes for the current rules were based on projected growth in North American feedstock supply — not international availability nor the nameplate capacities of US refineries, Hengst said.

There were also large increases in imported feedstocks for biofuel production, namely in used cooking oil and tallow.

But the potential for an upset in global trade flows remains an agency concern. Domestic policy in some countries could boost offshore consumption of feedstocks and finished fuels that have arrived to the US market in recent years, while the US policy environment itself remains vulnerable to change.

The EPA is also navigating recent adverse judgments against its interpretation of the Small Refinery Exemption program and is prioritizing the development of options that would comply with court orders.

There was no clarity provided on eRINs as the EPA continues to consider its options.

By Jasmine Davis