# EPA Announces Biofuel and Small Refinery Exemption Priorities | US EPA

> EPA announced final decisions on 31 small refinery exemptions and 6 denials under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The agency also signaled deregulatory steps for natural gas, flexible fuel vehicles and E85, and an expedited atrazine reregistration for corn.

- Date: 2019-08-09 · published 2019-08-09T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: policy · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/57447-epa-announces-biofuel-and-small-refinery-exemption-priorities-us-epa
- Commodities: [Soybean Oil](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SBO.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Granting refinery exemptions removes biofuel blending demand, which is bearish for soybean oil and corn-based ethanol feedstock demand and pressures soy and corn prices.

## Read by commodity

- SBO: bearish ▼
- CORN: bearish ▼

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SBO | 2019-08-11 | 5 | +7.9% | 3.7 | EPA's Aug 9 decisions on 31 small refinery exemptions signaled biofuel policy changes that shift expected biodiesel feedstock demand, which is directly relevant to soybean oil prices in the final days of the window. |
| SBO | 2019-08-07 | 1 | +3.6% | 3.5 | EPA's small refinery exemption decisions and biofuel announcements (dated Aug 9, but likely reflecting news flow around the move) bear directly on biodiesel demand for soybean oil; timing is slightly after the move, so confidence is moderate. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SBO | 2017-09-27 | [EPA announces smaller biodiesel production - soybean](https://feedsoft.ai/events/69029-epa-announces-smaller-biodiesel-production-soybean.md) | -2.2% | +3.3% |
| SBO | 2019-04-01 | [NBB calls on EPA to reform small refinery exemptions - Biofuels International Magazine](https://feedsoft.ai/events/59465-nbb-calls-on-epa-to-reform-small-refinery-exemptions-biofuels-international.md) | +2.8% | -1.7% |
| SBO | 2025-05-29 | [US biofuel credits plunge on bean oil moves, bio exemption rumors](https://feedsoft.ai/events/24780-us-biofuel-credits-plunge-on-bean-oil-moves-bio-exemption-rumors.md) | -4.6% | +3.5% |
| SBO | 2026-01-15 | [Top Biofuel Priorities That Will Impact Farmers](https://feedsoft.ai/events/15060-top-biofuel-priorities-that-will-impact-farmers.md) | +3.3% | +8.3% |
| SBO | 2019-04-26 | [US Biodiesel Demand Bleeds Lower on Exemptions - DTN](https://feedsoft.ai/events/59464-us-biodiesel-demand-bleeds-lower-on-exemptions-dtn.md) | -1.5% | -3.1% |
| CORN | 2019-10-25 | [EPA refinery exemptions reduced renewable fuel blending requirements in 2018 -
		U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)](https://feedsoft.ai/events/56439-epa-refinery-exemptions-reduced-renewable-fuel-blending-requirements-in-2018-u.md) | -1.2% | -1.5% |
| CORN | 2020-04-16 | [Five oil-refining states ask US EPA to waive biofuel mandate amid plunging fuel demand \| S&P Global](https://feedsoft.ai/events/53530-five-oil-refining-states-ask-us-epa-to-waive-biofuel-mandate-amid-plunging-fuel.md) | -1.1% | -1.4% |
| CORN | 2018-07-11 | [EPA scraps detailed plan to force U.S. refiners to blend more biofuels](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63922-epa-scraps-detailed-plan-to-force-u-s-refiners-to-blend-more-biofuels.md) | +0.5% | +9.5% |

## Sources

- epa.gov: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-biofuel-and-small-refinery-exemption-priorities

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.