ELR Citation: 56 ELR 20030
No(s). 20-1107 (D.C. Cir. Mar 13, 2026)

The D.C. Circuit dismissed as moot petitions challenging EPA's 2020 percentage standards under the Renewable Fuel Standards program. Biofuel groups initially sought to remand the 2020 standards to be recalculated and raised, but the petitions were held in abeyance, during which time the Agency issued a 2022 rulemaking that revised the 2020 standards. The groups abandoned their initial request and argued they were now challenging EPA's policy of refusing to account for past retroactive exemptions and sought to change how the Agency operates in the future. The court found that the claims were moot because the rule being challenged was superseded by the 2022 standards, and the groups' claim they were challenging an underlying policy common to both rules did not defeat mootness because they did not ask the court to set aside an identifiable past action, their challenge to the 2020 rule was "equally applicable" to future rulemakings, and there was doubt EPA would continue following the challenged policy.