The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled October 17 that environmental groups do not have the standing to sue Washington state agencies over federal greenhouse gas regulations for oil refineries. In April 2012, the Washington Environmental Council and the Sierra Club filed the suit against the Washington Department of Ecology, urging the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as air pollutants. While the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled in favor of the environmental groups, the appeals court remanded the case back to dismiss for a lack of jurisdiction.