ELR Citation: 43 ELR 20020
No(s). 10-1347 (D.C. Cir. Jan 22, 2013)

The D.C. Circuit denied a company's petition for review challenging certain 2008 transfers made by competitor companies under the cap-and-trade program for
hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). The transfers permanently increased the competitors' future baseline allowances of HCFC-22. Because the cap-and-trade program is a zero-sum system, the increased allowances to the competitor companies reduced the petitioning company's market share and allowances of HCFC-22. The petitioner argued that interpollutant transfers are good only for the same year in which the transfers are made and should not be permanent or affect a company's baseline allowance for a new regulatory period. But in Arkema Inc. v. EPA, 18 F.3d 1, 40 ELR 20232 (D.C. Cir. 2010), the court held that those permanent transfers were valid under the CAA. And absent en banc review, the court must adhere to circuit precedent.