All Knowledge & Insights By Date

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 21, 2025, the availability of a final document entitled “Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress” (Third Report). 90 Fed. Reg. 7135. The document was prepared by EPA’s Offices of Research and Development (ORD) and Air and Radiation (OAR), in consultation with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE). The Third Report builds on the first and second triennial reports, released in...

On January 8, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $6 million in funding for three projects that will advance biofuel development and support U.S. leadership in energy and emissions innovation. According to BETO, the projects will support research to improve performance and reduce costs of high-impact biofuel production technologies; scale up production systems with industry; and support...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule on December 12, 2024, that would partially waive the 2024 cellulosic biofuel volume requirement and revise the associated percentage standard under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program due to a shortfall in cellulosic biofuel production. 89 Fed. Reg. 100442. As a result of this proposed change, EPA proposes to extend the RFS compliance reporting deadline for the 2024 compliance year. According to the proposed rule,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 3, 2024, that it has rescheduled its public webinar to discuss the implementation of the Biogas Regulatory Reform Rule (BRRR) provisions promulgated as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) final rule for 2023-2025 (the Set Rule) to April 12, 2024. 89 Fed. Reg. 23013. During the webinar, EPA intends to discuss various aspects of the BRRR program, including: All attendees must pre-register for the webinar...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host a public webinar on April 4, 2024, to discuss the implementation of the Biogas Regulatory Reform Rule (BRRR) provisions promulgated as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) final rule for 2023-2025 (the “Set Rule”). 89 Fed. Reg. 15988. EPA states that these regulatory provisions include registration and reporting and updated regulatory provisions for the production, distribution, and use of biogas as a renewable fuel. During the...

On October 17, 2023, Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) reintroduced the Adopt Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) Act (S. 3055), a bipartisan bill directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update its greenhouse gas (GHG) modeling for all renewable fuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). According to Thune’s October 17, 2023, press release, the bill would require EPA to apply the Argonne National Lab’s...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On June 21, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program that will establish the biofuel volume requirements from 2023 to 2025. According to EPA, the final rule “builds on the RFS program’s progress over the previous two years and reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to strengthen the nation’s energy independence, advance...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On April 11, 2023, a bipartisan group of legislators led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging it to strengthen the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by maintaining the blending requirements for 2023; denying all pending Small Refinery Exemptions (SRE); eliminating proposed retroactive cuts to the renewable volume obligations (RVO); and setting RFS volumes...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on February 15, 2023, on “The Future of Low Carbon Transportation Fuels and Considerations for a National Clean Fuels Program.” The Committee heard from the following witnesses: Michael J. Graff, Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), American Air Liquide Holdings Incorporated; Geoff Cooper, President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association; and Chris Spear, President and...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On December 2, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule determining that renewable diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, naphtha, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) produced from canola/rapeseed oil via a hydrotreating process all meet the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction threshold of 50 percent required for advanced biofuels and biomass-based diesel (BBD) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program....

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On January 3, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of a draft document entitled Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress (External Review Draft) for public comment. 88 Fed. Reg. 72. EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) and Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), in consultation with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE), prepared the document....

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On December 1, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a multi-part proposal that will build on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program and seek to advance the priorities of energy security, less pollution, and consumer protection. The RFS “Set” proposal requests public input on required volumes of biofuel for the next one to three years and on a series of modifications intended to strengthen...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on November 3, 2022, entitled Renewable Fuel Standard: Actions Needed to Improve Decision-Making in the Small Refinery Exemption Program. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requires that gasoline and diesel fuels be blended with a minimum volume of renewable fuel. Small refineries can petition the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) annually for an exemption from their RFS...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule on September 2, 2022, establishing an optional alternative renewable identification number (RIN) retirement schedule for small refineries under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for the 2020 compliance year. 87 Fed. Reg. 54158. Small refineries that elect to use the alternative RIN retirement schedule will have to comply fully with their 2020 RFS obligations, including any...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On April 18, 2022, EPA announced the opportunity for public comment on its proposed analysis of the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with biofuels produced from canola/rapeseed oil. EPA’s assessment considers diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, naphtha, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) produced from canola/rapeseed oil through a hydrotreating process. EPA is proposing to find that these pathways would meet the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On March 10, 2022, EPA issued a notice of disclosure to all obligated parties under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program that have petitioned for a small refinery exemption (SRE) or that have submitted certain RFS compliance reports. EPA will disclose information that is claimed to be, or has been determined to be confidential business information (CBI) from May 21, 2021, through December 31, 2023, to the Government...

By Lynn L. Bergeson  On January 31, 2022, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and 12 of their colleagues submitted a letter to EPA Administrator, Michael Regan, regarding EPA’s RFS Annual Rules and Proposed RFS Small Refinery Exemption Decision. In the bipartisan letter, Senators Klobuchar and Grassley and their colleagues urge EPA to prioritize the RFS in support of a “homegrown energy future” by: Maintaining the blending requirements for...

By Lynn L. Bergeson  On February 16, 2022, EPW held a hearing to examine EPA’s RFS program. U.S. Senator and EPW Chairman, Tom Carper (D-DE), made the opening statement, highlighting that EPW had not held an oversight hearing on the RFS since 2016. While Senator Carper demonstrated continued support for the RFS program, he also noted that “[f]or example, the amount of advanced renewable fuel used today in this country is far less than the 36...

By Lynn L. Bergeson  On January 27, 2022, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and 14 of her colleagues submitted a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Michael Regan, requesting that EPA reconsider its proposed actions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program through the RFS Annual Rules and the Proposed RFS Small Refinery Exemption Decision. Senator Capito and her...

On January 21, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new effort under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to streamline the review of new chemicals that could be used to displace current, higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting transportation fuels. The Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention’s (OCSPP) New Chemicals Division (NCD) has implemented a “robust, consistent, and efficient process to assess the risk and apply mitigation measures, as...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On January 21, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new effort under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to streamline the review of new chemicals that could be used to displace current, higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting transportation fuels. The Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention’s (OCSPP) New Chemicals Division (NCD) has implemented a “robust, consistent, and efficient process to...

By Lynn L. Bergeson  On December 28, 2021, EPA announced that it will hold a public virtual meeting to discuss biofuel greenhouse gas (GHG) modeling. EPA is soliciting information on the current scientific understanding of GHG modeling of land-based biofuels used in the transportation sector. According to EPA, the information gathered during this meeting will be used to inform current and future EPA actions, including the method for quantifying GHG emissions under RFS. Of particular...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.   On December 10, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will hold a virtual public hearing on its proposal for the “Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: RFS Annual Rules” signed on December 7, 2021. The virtual public hearing is scheduled for January 4, 2022, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EST). If necessary, EPA will hold an additional virtual session on January 5, 2022, to...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On December 14, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is proposing to deny all undecided/pending small refinery exemption petitions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. EPA is accepting comments on its proposal until February 7, 2022....

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On November 26, 2021, EPA issued a proposed rule to modify certain compliance dates under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. For small refineries only, EPA is proposing to extend the RFS compliance reporting deadline and the associated attest engagement reporting deadline for compliance year 2019. EPA is also proposing to extend the RFS compliance reporting deadline and the associated attest reporting deadline...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On July 2, 2021, U.S. Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN) and Randy Feenstra (R-IA) introduced a bill called the Small Refinery Exemption Clarification Act of 2021. The bill clarifies that only oil refineries that have been continuously receiving small refinery exemptions (SRE) since 2011 should be eligible to petition for extensions of renewable fuel blending requirement exemptions. The SRE Clarification Act follows the Supreme Court’s decision in late June 2021...

By  Lynn L. Bergeson    On May 25, 2021, U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced the bipartisan Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Integrity Act of 2021. Aiming to provide more certainty to rural America, this legislation would require that small refineries petition for RFS hardship exemptions by June 1 of each year. According to Senator Fischer, the RFS Integrity Act of 2021 would ensure that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) properly...

By  Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.   On May 25, 2021, U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and House Representatives Randy Feenstra (R-IA), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) joined forces in a letter to urge President Biden to uphold his promise to support biofuels in the next four years. Criticizing President Biden’s efforts under the American Jobs Plan for failing to include investments in biofuels, the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson   On May 5, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice of disclosure to all obligated parties under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program that have submitted small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions and to all parties whose RFS information otherwise resides in EPA’s Moderated Transaction System (EMTS).  EPA’s action is in response to a U.S. Government of Accountability Office (GAO) request to disclose such...

By  Lynn L. Bergeson On April 1, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final modifications of certain compliance dates under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. The final rule extends the RFS compliance deadline for the 2019 and 2020 compliance years and its associated deadlines for submission of attest engagement reports for the 2019 and 2020 compliance years for small refineries. The new 2019 compliance year and attest engagement report deadlines are...

By   Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On January 19, 2021, EPA issued a request for comment on petitions submitted in 2020 for a waiver of the RFS obligations that apply to 2019 and 2020. The petitions argue that recent events warrant EPA exercising its general waiver authority on the basis of severe economic harm. In late March 2020, a group of small refineries requested a waiver of the 2019 and 2020 RFS obligations. In...

By   Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A.  EPA, on January 15, 2021, issued a proposed rule to modify certain compliance dates under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The proposed deadline extension for the 2019 compliance year and the associated deadline for submission of attest engagement reports for the 2019 compliance year for small refineries are as follows: November 30, 2021, and June 1, 2022, respectively. The second extension would be for the 2020...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 18, 2020, U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL) and Jim Hagedorn (R-MN) introduced a bipartisan, bicameral legislation that aims to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and encourage low-carbon fuel production. Titled “The Streamlining Advanced Biofuels Registration Act,” this bill would eliminate existing barriers for biofuels plants to increase production of cellulosic biomass into renewable fuels. Representative Bustos criticized the lack of...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 11, 2020, a total of 70 Mayors from various cities in the United States submitted a letter to Andrew Wheeler, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, criticizing the decision not to uphold the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and not to reject proposed waivers under Section 211(o)(7) of the Clean Air Act. The Mayors state that this decision on waivers is already causing damage to the economy and will continue...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 6, 2020, EPA issued its final rule setting 2020 renewable fuel percentage standards under its Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program. The final rule established the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel that apply to gasoline and diesel transportation fuel produced or imported in 2020. The volume requirements set are below the statutory volume targets. In addition to the 2020 annual...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On December 19, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, signed the final rule on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, setting the renewable fuel percentages for 2020. Titled Renewable Fuel Standard Program: Standards for 2020 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2021 and Other Changes, the final rule establishes the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 14, 2019, Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Representative Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced legislation seeking to reform the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Growing Renewable Energy through Existing and New Environmentally Responsible (GREENER) Fuels Act is intended to mitigate the “harmful environmental impacts of the corn ethanol mandate,” according to a press release issued by the lawmakers. The bill would phase out the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 4, 2019, 60 organizations unified in an effort to urge U.S. President Donald Trump to reconsider EPA’s proposed amendments to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. Signed by organizations such as the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), a Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member, the letter to the President indicates flaws within the aforementioned proposal released on October 15, 2019. Arguing that the proposed...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On October 28, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register a supplemental proposal on adjustments to the percentage standards for 2020 that result from the amended definitions of two terms used to calculate the percentage standards under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Signed and pre-published on October 15, 2019, by EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, the notice of the proposed rule is...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 22, 2019, Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee Chair, and Paul Tonko (D-NY), Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee (ECCS), announced that a legislative hearing will be held on October 29, 2019, at 10:30 a.m. (EDT) on Capitol Hill. Titled “Protecting the RFS: The Trump Administration’s Abuse of Secret Waivers,” the hearing will focus on the EPA’s mismanagement of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program...

By Lynn L. Bergeson In response to EPA supplemental proposal outlined above, on October 15, 2019, U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) issued a statement expressing his disappointment with EPA’s RFS mandates. Senator Lankford’s statement reads in part: The RFS has been a problem since day one, and the proposed increase to the mandate only further complicates a broken federal requirement to blend biofuels into gasoline. This proposal continues allowing exemptions for small refineries...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 15, 2019, EPA Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, signed a supplemental notice of the proposed rule on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that proposes to establish the cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel volumes for 2020 and the biomass-based diesel volume for 2021. Although the rule does not change the volumes for 2020 and 2021 proposed in July 2019, it proposes and seeks comment on adjustments to the way...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 4, 2019, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary, Sonny Perdue, announced President Trump’s negotiated agreement on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).  Under the agreement, EPA and USDA will undertake the following actions: In a forthcoming supplemental notice building off the recently proposed 2020 Renewable Volume Standards and the Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On August 30, 2019, the National Chicken Council submitted a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressing concerns with the proposed required volume obligations (RVO) for 2020 combined with the recent waiver that will increase the use of ethanol-15 (E15) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Representing companies that produce and process over 95 percent of the chicken in the United States, the National Chicken Council’s concerns are related...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On August 21, 2019, Iowa Democratic Representative Cindy Axne asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Inspector General (IG) to investigate how EPA decided to grant the exemptions from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requested by oil refiners. EPA approved 31 petitions for waivers from the 2018 requirements.  Lawmakers are not pleased at what appears to be EPA favoring the oil industry. Hence, Representative Axne’s call for an IG...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On July 26, 2019, U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) announced that he is working with U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on the Restore Environmental Sustainability to Our Renewable Energy (RESTORE) Act. In an effort to end what Toomey describes as an “egregious form of corporate welfare that hurts the environment and drives up the cost of everything,” the RESTORE Act would abolish the corn ethanol mandate...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On July 31, 2019, EPA held a public hearing in Ypsilanti, MI, to obtain stakeholders’ input on its proposed rule to set Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) 2020 renewable volume obligations (RVO) and 2021 biomass-based diesel volume. Among the various stakeholders providing oral statements to EPA were representatives from Growth Energy, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), Hero BX, and the National...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 28, 2019, 13 U.S. Senators signed a letter to President Donald J. Trump expressing concerns about media reports that USDA Secretary Sonny Purdue is attempting to influence EPA decisions on small refinery waivers under RFS. Similar to the letter submitted to Purdue himself by Senator Kennedy, the 13 Senators express opposition to Secretary Purdue’s involvement in the SRE waivers decision-making process. Also referencing the Clean Air Act and its...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 27, 2019, U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) submitted a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Purdue asking him to stop threatening energy jobs in Louisiana. In his letter to Secretary Purdue, Senator Kennedy outlines concerns related to Small Refinery Exemptions (SRE) issued by EPA under the RFS program. Of particular concern to Senator Kennedy are reports that Secretary Purdue continues to attempt to influence EPA decisions on small refinery waivers,...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On July 5, 2019, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed a proposed rule to set the minimum amount of renewable fuels that must be supplied to the market in 2020, as well as the biomass-based diesel volume standard for 2021 under the Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) program. The notice means that EPA is on target to publish the final RFS Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) on time. In Wheeler’s announcement, he highlights that...