WASHINGTON, D.C.—Progress Vitality and the Renewable Fuels Affiliation (RFA) right this moment filed their opening temporary within the U.S. Supreme Court docket in Environmental Safety Company v. Calumet Shreveport Refining, LLC, Case No. 23-1229. The case seeks to overturn an opinion from the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit relating to the correct venue for adjudicating the U.S. Environmental Safety Company’s (EPA’s) denials of a number of petitions for small refinery exemptions (SREs) below the Renewable Gas Normal (RFS).
Of their temporary, Progress Vitality and RFA argue that the Fifth Circuit had erred and that challenges to these SRE petition denials ought to be adjudicated solely within the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit as a result of EPA’s SRE coverage is “nationally relevant” and “primarily based on a willpower of nationwide scope or impact.” In assist, the organizations argue of their temporary that EPA “prescribed normal requirements” for adjudicating SRE petitions regardless of their location that, when utilized, “inherently have an effect on . . . obligations for all” obligated refineries and renewable fuels producers “all through the nation.”
“EPA’s actions in response to those SRE petitions replicate quintessentially nationwide issues which are nicely inside EPA’s authority to guard,” mentioned Progress Vitality and RFA in an announcement. “Oil trade pursuits shouldn’t be allowed to upend Congress’s rigorously crafted judicial assessment course of, which ensures nationwide uniformity for the RFS program and avoids inconsistent authorized precedents, discussion board purchasing, and market uncertainty for biofuels.”
In regards to the RFS
The Renewable Gas Normal (RFS) was first enacted in 2005 as a part of the Vitality Coverage Act. It was then expanded in 2007 with the passage of the Vitality Independence and Safety Act. It units the variety of gallons of renewable fuels that have to be blended into the nation’s complete gasoline provide annually. The RFS stays one in all America’s most profitable clear vitality insurance policies, lowering carbon emissions, providing shoppers extra inexpensive choices on the pump, and delivering better vitality safety for greater than 15 years.
Case Background
In April and June 2022, EPA denied 105 SRE petitions from 36 refineries situated in 18 states. In assessing the petitions, EPA utilized a single, nationwide authorized requirement: to be eligible for an SRE, petitioning refineries should reveal a direct causal relationship between RFS compliance and their claimed financial hardship. EPA then invited petitioning refineries to submit refinery-specific proof to rebut EPA’s normal factual discovering that refineries have the flexibility to go by means of their prices of compliance with the RFS and that RFS compliance doesn’t trigger refineries to incur any internet prices, not to mention financial hardship. Reviewing the proof submitted by the refineries, EPA discovered that none met their burden.
Refineries whose SRE petitions had been denied challenged the denials within the Third, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits. All regional circuit courts besides the Fifth Circuit concluded that solely the D.C. Circuit was the correct venue to listen to the challenges, and so they dismissed or transferred the challenges to the D.C. Circuit. In contrast, the Fifth Circuit held that venue in that courtroom was correct, and in a divided 2-1 panel opinion, vacated EPA’s denials for the refineries that introduced challenges in that courtroom.
In Could 2024, Progress Vitality and RFA collectively petitioned the Supreme Court docket to overturn the Fifth Circuit opinion. The U.S. EPA additionally petitioned the Supreme Court docket as nicely. On October 21, 2024, the Supreme Court docket granted EPA’s petition, and Progress and RFA submitted their opening temporary as a respondent in assist of EPA.
