POET Biorefining, LLC v. EPA

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed in part and denied in part a petition for review of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance document that explained EPA’s interpretation of regulatory requirements for determining the amount of cellulosic biofuel in ethanol produced from corn kernels. The D.C. Circuit noted that cellulosic biofuel “produces the least lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of the four renewable fuels promoted by the Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard program.” The D.C. Circuit dismissed the challenge to one portion of the guidance as unripe and concluded that another portion of the guidance announced “a final, interpretive rule that lawfully construes the underlying regulation.” Judge Henderson dissented in part, stating that in her view the guidance was a legislative rule that effectively amended the applicable regulation, and that it therefore should have been subject to notice and comment.