ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20101
No(s). 23-1261 (D.C. Cir. Aug 1, 2025)

The D.C. Circuit denied petitions to review EPA's 2024 rule establishing an allocation methodology for hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) allowances for years 2024 through 2028 under the Agency's cap-and-trade program. Refrigerant manufacturers argued Congress violated the nondelegation doctrine when it granted EPA authority to allocate use allowances, that EPA unconstitutionally exercised legislative power when it promulgated the 2024 rule, and that the Agency's exclusion of 2020 data from its market-share calculations was arbitrary and capricious. The court found the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which requires an 85% reduction in production and consumption of HFCs by 2036, did not unconstitutionally delegate legislative power because it sufficiently constrained EPA's discretion to allocate HFC allowances, and that EPA reasonably excluded the 2020 data. It denied the petitions.