WASHINGTON, D.C.—Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuel trade association, issued the following statement in response to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that defended the RFS Set and rejected an attempt by oil industry interests to undermine the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a program that requires refiners to include a certain amount of biofuels in the nation’s fuel blend.
“The oil industry’s arguments in this case were fatally flawed—they relied on tenuous legal arguments that ran contrary to the facts and the plain language of the RFS statute. We’re glad the court recognized their claims for what they were and ruled in EPA’s favor. In addition, we are confident that EPA and the Fish and Wildlife Service on remand will provide further explanation of their environmental findings in support of the RFS Set rule.
“The RFS has proven itself time and time again to be one of America’s most-successful clean energy programs. The stronger we can make the RFS, the more it can support American energy dominance, rural economic growth, and greater consumer savings.”
Background
Oil and environmental groups challenged EPA’s RFS Set rule, which established Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2023-2025, on various grounds. In its ruling today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected most of their claims, finding that the oil industry challenges were without merit and remanding the rule back to EPA and the Fish and Wildlife Service to better explain its conclusions while allowing the Set rule to remain in place.