OMB Reviewing RFS Pathways Rule As Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Activity Remains High
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has reportedly received the final rule on "RFS Pathways II and Technical Amendments to the RFS2 Standards" (RFS Pathways II rule) from EPA. This is the last step in the process before EPA publishes the final rule. EPA's summary of its proposed RFS Pathways II rule is available online. A copy of the 38-page proposed rule, which was published in the Federal Register on June 14, 2013, is also available online.
The Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG™) reported on and summarized the proposed RFS Pathways II rule when it was published last year. A copy of that report is available online.
EPA has stated publically that it expects to issue its final rule setting the 2014 RFS in June 2014. As that date nears, lobbying activity on both sides has intensified. For instance, on April 30, 2014, the American Petroleum Institute released a letter claiming that "ask[ing] EPA to build in an adequate margin of safety when setting the final ethanol mandates for 2014 because projections of gasoline demand often miss the mark." A copy of the letter is available online. On April 29, 2014, Representatives Tim Walz (D-MN), Rick Nolan (D-MN), and Cheri Bustos (D-IL) — three Democratic Members of the House of Representatives from corn-producing Midwestern states — met with senior White House officials to argue that the final 2014 RFS rule should not include the deep cuts proposed to the corn ethanol and advanced biofuel volumetric targets. A copy of Representative Walz's press release on the meeting is available online.