Justices give EPA home-court advantage in national pollution disputes
Source: Courthouse News Service
June 18, 2025
WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court gave the Environmental Protection Agency a leg up in pollution disputes on Wednesday, ruling that challenges to a renewable fuel program must be fought on the agency’s turf. In a 7-2 decision, the high court ruled that when the EPA denies omnibus requests by small refineries — those processing less than 75,000 barrels of crude oil daily — to be exempted from requirements to blend its oil with renewable fuels, the refineries must bring any appeals to the D.C. Circuit.
Such challenges fall under the Clean Air Act’s “nationwide scope or effect” exception, part of an effort by Congress to channel nationally significant cases to the appellate circuit that regularly deals with agency challenge, while keeping regionally focused issues in local circuits.
Justice Clarence Thomas, a George H.W. Bush appointee, wrote in the opinion that while the EPA’s specific denial of a refinery’s challenge defaults to a local circuit, the agency’s omnibus denials based on its determination that the petitions had a nationwide effect warranted the exception and required D.C. Circuit review. Thomas explained that the EPA’s denials, laid out in two Federal Register denial notices in April and June 2022, were based on findings that a “disproportionate economic hardship” exception only covers issues caused by renewable fuel program compliance and that compliance credit — or Renewable Identification Number — costs are passed through to consumers.
“Both conclusions are clear determinations of nationwide scope or effect: EPA invoked both its statutory interpretation and its passthrough theory in justifying its denials, and both points apply generically to all refineries, regardless of their geographic location,” Thomas wrote. “After all, the CAA is a federal statue and by its terms applies nationwide.” Under the Clean Air Act’s venue rules, challenges to nationwide regulations must be filed in the D.C. Circuit, with all others falling within an appropriate regional circuit. The clear-cut rule has been muddled by disputes over what "nationally applicable" means under the statute.
Read more: https://www.courthousenews.com/justices-give-epa-home-court-advantage-in-national-pollution-disputes/
There were 2 related rulings (one that addressed 2 cases) dealing with the EPA and the Clean Air Act -
Link to OKLAHOMA, ET AL., v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY & PACIFICORP, ET AL., v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY RULING (PDF) - https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1067_6j36.pdf
Link to ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY v. CALUMET SHREVEPORT REFINING, L.L.C., ET AL RULING (PDF) - https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1229_c0ne.pdf