In a two-to-one ruling, U.S. Court of Appeals judges for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the EPA acted reasonably and within the law when it added a 250-million-gallon ethanol mandate to the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2022. This supplement made up for a mistake that lowered the 2016 RFS too much.

In 2017, the circuit court ruled that the EPA made an error in reducing the RFS by 500 million gallons. In 2022, the EPA issued supplemental standards of 250 million gallons each for 2022 and 2023 to correct the mistake.

The petroleum industry had challenged the 250-million-gallon supplement for 2022, claiming the EPA didn’t have the authority to adjust. The Renewable Fuels Association claims the ruling will put the RFS on solid footing for the future and affirm the EPA’s authority in renewable fuels.

Read more about the EPA’s ability to regulate renewable fuels here.