Renewable Fuels Association v. EPA

EPA notified the court that it had denied all 36 petitions for extensions of the small refinery exemption from the requirements of the Renewable Fuel Standard annual volume obligations for compliance year 2018 that the court had remanded.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) motion for voluntary remand without vacatur of its August 2019 determination granting and denying 36 petitions for extensions of the small refinery exemption from the requirements of the Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard annual volume obligations for compliance year 2018. The court ordered EPA to issue new decisions within 120 days. The court stated that vacatur was not warranted “because it would be unduly disruptive and EPA may be able to explain its rationale on remand.”