On November 30, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice in the Federal Register announcing its decision to deny several petitions requesting that EPA initiate a rulemaking to change the point of obligation for compliance under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.  Under the RFS program, refiners and importers of gasoline and diesel fuel are identified as “obligated parties” responsible for compliance with the RFS annual standards.  In 2016, EPA received several petitions requesting a revision of the definition of “obligated party,” stating that such a change would align compliance responsibilities with the parties best positioned to make decisions on how much renewable fuel is blended into the transportation fuel supply in the United States.  As previously reported in the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG^®) blog post, “EPA Announces Opportunity To Comment On Changing The RFS Point Of Obligation,” EPA requested public comment on the petitions and the Agency’s proposed denial of the requests.  In reviewing the petitions and public comments, EPA stated that its primary consideration was whether or not a change in the point of obligation would improve the effectiveness of the program to achieve Congress’s goals.  According to the notice, EPA determined that such a change would not improve the efficiency of the program, but would unnecessarily increase the complexity of the program and undermine the success of the RFS program.