Court Rules Against EPA in RFS Exemption Case

A Washington, D.C., Circuit Court panel vacated a swath of government decisions denying requests from small fossil fuel refineries to be temporarily exempt from the Renewable Fuel Standard. In 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency denied all pending exemption requests from small refineries, finding the only costs that could cause such economic hardship were those tied to compliance with the program, and those costs could be fully passed on to consumers. The Court wrote, “We conclude that the EPA’s rationale for denying all pending exemption requests was contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious. We therefore vacate the denial actions.” The panel’s decision comes in the wake of a Supreme Court decision overturning the long-standing Chevron deference that required courts to defer to an agency’s interpretation of a vague federal regulation. In an emailed statement, Growth Energy decried the panel’s decision and urged the EPA to meet its obligations under the RFS.