A federal appeals court grappled Thursday with EPA’s regulation of biogas production for transportation fuel, a fresh point of contention in the renewable natural gas industry.
During oral arguments on a lawsuit from the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit zeroed in on differences in how EPA applies the renewable fuel standard to renewable natural gas versus other biofuels.
Judges appeared to reach for how and why EPA, in regulations finalized last year, imposed reporting requirements and related mandates on producers of biogas — such as farmers or landfill operators — while similar oversight doesn’t apply to growers who provide corn for ethanol, for instance.
EPA may have a “big problem” by not explaining in the regulations why farmers are treated differently for one type of biofuel versus another, Judge Bradley N. Garcia told a lawyer for EPA, Alexander Purpuro.
