A federal appeals court appears unlikely to side with food and beverage retailers seeking to scrap deadlines on an EPA rule to phase out a potent planet-warming pollutant.
During oral arguments Thursday, judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit questioned the challengers’ claims that the agency had not done enough to explain the rule and how industry should comply with it.
The groups — Food Marketplace, the National Grocers Association and the American Frozen Food Institute — are targeting EPA’s October 2023 rule on reducing hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, in air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, saying the agency set aggressive deadlines that the industry can’t meet.
“I’m just very puzzled by what the dispute actually is at this point,” said Judge Gregory Katsas. “What are we fighting about at this point?”
