WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court says an expanded number of small refineries can seek an exemption from certain renewable fuel requirements.
The high court ruled 6-3 on Friday that a small refinery that had previously received a hardship exemption from complying with Clean Air Act requirements may obtain an “extension” of that exemption. That’s even if the refinery let a previous exemption lapse.
The Biden administration argued that to get an extension a refinery had to have maintained a continuous exemption since 2011.
The Supreme Court's ruling on Friday shot down a federal appeals court who said that those continuous exemptions were required for an extension.
Refineries in Wyoming, Utah and Oklahoma argued that siding with the Biden administration would eliminate the exemption for most small refineries in the United States.
