EPA To Reconsider 2013 Cellulosic RVOs

On January 23, 2014, EPA issued letters to the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) partially answering their October 2013 petitions for consideration of the final rulemaking, "Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2013 Renewable Fuel Standards; Final Rule," published in the Federal Register on August 15, 2013. In its letters, EPA explains that it is granting the petitions by AFPM and API for reconsideration of the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard under the RFS. EPA explained that it came to this decision in light of KiOR, Inc.'s downgraded production projections for 2013. KiOR has been the largest U.S. producer of cellulosic biofuels, and EPA largely depended on the availability of the Company's projected volumes to help ensure obligated parties under the RFS could meet their 2013 cellulosic biofuel requirements.

While welcomed by API and AFPM, this announcement comes at a time when the biofuels industry — and the cellulosic biofuels industry in particular — is under increasing attack by API, AFPM, and other stakeholders in the refining, agriculture, and food sectors. Several leaders within the biofuels industry had urged EPA not to grant the petitions by AFPM and API for reconsideration of the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standards under the RFS.