On June 20, 2014, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit requesting that the court rehear whether Monroe Energy (Monroe), a refining subsidiary of Delta Airlines, had standing to challenge EPA's final rule setting the 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). BRAG reported on the court's recent denial of Monroe's challenge to that final rule. A copy of that report is available online.

As BRAG reported, the court held that EPA properly utilized its authority under the federal RFS to set the 2013 RFS volume requirements. The court disagreed with Monroe that EPA did not sufficiently consider factors in setting the final 2013 RFS rule, including the means of compliance for obligated parties. NBB wants the court to find that Monroe did not have standing to bring the challenge to the 2013 final RFS rule because the Company failed to show that a change to the rule would have changed the way that third parties acted with respect to their Renewable Identification Numbers. Reportedly, NBB would like the court to narrow the scope of groups that may bring challenges to the annual RFS rules set by EPA as part of the trade association's efforts to protect the RFS law.