WASHINGTON, Nov. 8- The Supreme Court rejected a petition on Monday from the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).
The API and the NPRA filed against EPA’s enactment of the expanded RFS last year, which mandates that the production of domestic renewable fuels reaches 36 billion gallons annually by 2022.
The D.C. Circuit Court initially rejected an API/NPRA joint petition challenging RFS2 regulations in December 2010. The same organizations filed a petition in July 2011 for the Supreme Court to review the Circuit Court’s decision. However, the court decided Monday not to hear the suit, which questioned if EPA may make the RFS rules retroactive.
Growth Energy, an industry group representing ethanol producers, supported the court’s decision to uphold the RFS under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
“The intent of Congress was clear when it passed the Energy Independence and Security Act – domestically-produced biofuels do strengthen our national defense and help support our economy,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “The RFS is critical if we are to ever reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and Growth Energy’s members fought vigorously against attempts by Big Oil to weaken the RFS.”
#30
For more news, go to www.agri-pulse.com