US Sup.Ct. Slip Opinion of June 18, 2025
RULING: When the federal Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) makes a “nationwide” “determination” of fact or law that primarily drives a decision it makes under the Clean Air Act but in a case of localized or regional interest only, the federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is the proper venue for appeals from the EPA’s decision. By a 7-2 vote, the Court construed the venue statute governing appeals from Clean Air Act decisions in this manner. In this case, the Court found that the primary “determination” of the EPA in denying small petroleum refiners’ applications for exemptions from the requirements of the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard program was the agency’s presumption of fact that the nationwide market for refined petroleum products allowed even small refiners to recover the costs of compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard program, thereby eliminating the primary justification for most applications by small refiners for an exemption from the program’s requirements. Justice Gorsuch and Chief Justice Roberts dissented, complaining that the Court’s analysis of the venue statute was too complicated, and required too much work from appellate lawyers, on a venue question having little to do with the merits of an appeal. Editor’s Note: This case only decided which one of several federal Courts of Appeal should hear a challenge to an EPA Clean Air Act decision—the validity or invalidity of the EPA’s presumption in a particular case was not addressed.
RECENT RULINGS 