All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On April 22, 2016, EPA published Amendments Related to: Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards as a final rule in the Federal Register. This final action amends the RFS Quality Assurance Program (QAP) rule to exempt downstream end users of renewable fuels from product transfer document (PTD) requirements. EPA originally added the PTD requirements to the QAP rule, requiring parties taking ownership of renewable fuel to use the fuel for transportation -- parties would incur a renewable...

On April 15, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent its newly proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes for 2017 and 2018 to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA must set standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel by November 30 of the year before the standard is set for, and 14 months before the year that the biodiesel standard is set for. EPA's issuance...

On December 14, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: Standards for 2014, 2015, and 2016 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2017 in the Federal Register. The final rule will become effective on February 12, 2016, and establishes annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel for motor vehicle gasoline and diesel produced or imported in the years 2014, 2015,...

On October 30, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted a draft final rule for review to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that would reduce the amount of biofuels that must be blended into the fuel supply in 2014, 2015, and 2016 from statutory requirements, as reported by Bloomberg BNA's Daily Environment Report on November 3, 2015. Details of the proposal are not public. EPA is working toward a November 30, 2015, deadline established in a...

In a settlement with the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) and the American Petroleum Institute (API), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed to set renewable fuel obligations for calendar years 2014 and 2015 by November 30, 2015, under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).  The RFS requires annual increases in the amount of renewable fuel that must be blended into the total volume of gasoline refined and consumed in the U.S.  A current TV ad featured...

In a memorandum dated October 15, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) stated that it plans to begin preliminary research on the lifecycle impacts of EPA’s renewable fuel standard (RFS).  The stated objectives from the memorandum are to determine whether EPA:  (1) complied with the reporting requirements of laws authorizing the RFS; and (2) updated the lifecycle analysis supporting the RFS with findings from the...

On September 16, 2015, 23 biofuel executives sent a letter to President Obama regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volume requirement proposal. The revised RFS allows companies to challenge the distribution requirement of renewable fuel, potentially resulting in RFS requirements being waived on a year-to-year basis. The letter outlines the concern that the proposed RFS disincentivizes oil companies to blend renewable fuels into gasoline,...

On September 15, 2015, the head of the EPA, Gina McCarthy, spoke at the Growth Energy Advocacy Conference about the need of the upcoming RFS rule to encourage long-term investment in advanced biofuels to successfully grow capacity. McCarthy went on to say that the November 30, 2015, deadline is a priority for her to have the RFS rule finished to improve investment conditions for biofuels. She considers the RFS to be one of the best tools that the Administration has in the long-term fight against...

On August 11, 2015, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released the Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO) report. The report outlined expectations for regular gasoline to average a retail price of $2.41 for all of 2015, with prices for the fourth quarter of 2015 averaging $2.11. Consistently low gasoline prices, in addition to the proposed Renewable Fuel Standard volumes that were announced on May 29, 2015, have resulted in the EIA forecasting that ethanol consumption will average about...

On June 4, 2015, EPA published a notice in the Federal Register for a Public Hearing on the 2014, 2015, and 2016 Standards for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. As part of the hearing, EPA will consider amendments to the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biodiesel, and advanced biofuels that are added to fuel produced in the U.S. or imported for 2014, 2015, and 2016, and will consider amendments to the proposed biodiesel volume for 2017. The hearing will be held on...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed the volume requirements and associated percentage standards that would apply under the RFS program in calendar years 2014, 2015, and 2016 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel.  We will include a complete analysis of the EPA proposal and its impact in the June 4, 2015, Biobased and Renewable Products Update.

On May 18, 2015, the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) issued a white paper arguing that "Co-location Requirements under the RFS Impede Advanced Biofuels Development." The paper was sent to EPA. It requests that EPA clarify its definition of feedstock material under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) so that biofuels producers that pre-process their feedstocks away from final refineries are no longer prohibited from generating renewable identification numbers (RIN)...

The White House is reviewing EPA's proposed rules to set the 2014, 2015, and 2016 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements. The proposals are not currently publicly available, but EPA has committed to propose them by June 1, 2015, and to promulgate the 2014 and 2015 rules by November 30, 2015. EPA is required by law to issue the following year's RFS requirements by November 30 of the previous year. The interagency review of the RFS rule is occurring amid complaints that delays in...

(BIO) released a new white paper on "Estimating Chilled Investment for Advanced Biofuels Due to RFS Uncertainty," along with an accompanying press release. BIO examined the impact of EPA's recent inability in administering the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on investment in advanced and cellulosic biofuels. It has found that EPA's delay in issuing the final 2013 and 2014 RFS rules, among other delays in RFS administration, is responsible for most of the "$13.7 billion shortfall in...

On April 23, 2015, a bi-partisan group of 37 Senators led by Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Thune (R-SD), Al Franken (D-MN), and Mark Kirk (R-IL) sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy urging a strong final 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The full list of 37 co-signors and text of the letter is available on Senator Grassley's website. The Senators urge EPA to reconsider its proposed 2014 renewable...

As referenced in last week's Biobased and Renewable Products Update, EPA published a Proposed Consent Decree along with a request for comment in response to the Clean Air Act (CAA) lawsuit filed by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) and the American Petroleum Institute (API). The decree will establish deadlines for EPA to propose and issue in final the 2015 RFS. Comments are being accepted until May 20, 2015.

On April 10, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lodged with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia a proposed consent decree to resolve litigation challenging the delay in issuing Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) for 2014 and 2015 brought by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) against EPA. The consent decree would establish EPA's schedule for issuing a RFS for 2014 and 2015. In its filing, EPA stated that...

On March 25, 2015, EPA announced the direct final rule, Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Cellulosic Waiver Credit Price and Minor Amendments to Renewable Fuel Standard Regulations, that would result in cellulosic waiver credit prices being posted on the EPA website rather than as a result of the rulemaking process. This would allow the credit prices to be announced as soon as the needed data for the wholesale price of gasoline is available, which would provide more certainty to the...

On March 30, 2015, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) submitted a petition to EPA seeking reconsideration and a request for stay of EPA's approval of the Argentinian Camara Argentina de Biocombustibles (CARBIO) Alternative Biomass Tracking Program. According to the NBB press release, EPA failed to provide an opportunity for public comment on the EPA decision and a lack of transparency as to how the Argentinian biodiesel producers will demonstrate compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard...

On March 18, 2015, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced S. 791, "The American Energy Renaissance Act of 2015." Representative Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) introduced companion legislation, H.R. 1487. The legislation would phase out the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), approve the Keystone XL pipeline, open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas exploration, and stop EPA from regulating GHG emissions. Under the bill, the RFS would start to be phased out in 2016 with a 20 percent reduction...