EPA announces RFS schedule
April 10, 2015 |02:23 PM
The Environmental Protection Agency today announced plans to release the proposed volumetric requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard for 2015 by June 1, and the final requirements for 2014 and 2015 by November 30.
Proposed and final standards for 2016 are also to be released this year, on the same schedule.
EPA said it is announcing the 2014 and 2015 dates as a proposed settlement with the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers over deadlines for issuing the annual requirements under the RFS.
“Under the proposed consent decree, the agency would issue final annual volume standards for 2014 and 2015 by the end of this year,” EPA said.
“Although not required by the consent decree, EPA will also finalize the standards for 2016 this year,” the agency said.
“This schedule is consistent with EPA’s commitment to get the RFS program back on track, while providing certainty to renewable fuels markets and promoting the long-term growth of renewable fuels.”
EPA said the proposed consent decree does not address the content or substance of the volume standards, and that it establishes the following schedule:
EPA also announced today that:
“Biofuels are an important part of the president’s energy strategy, helping to curb dependence on foreign oil, cut carbon pollution and drive innovation,” EPA said in a notice to reporters.
“As with any settlement of litigation alleging failure to meet a deadline under the Clean Air Act, EPA will seek public comment on the terms of the settlement for 30 days before deciding whether to proceed with the settlement and seek entry of the consent decree,” EPA said.
API and AFPM on March 18 filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia against the EPA, charging that the agency was “disregarding statutory deadlines.”
Those deadlines require the agency to promulgate final RFS obligations for a particular year by November 30 of the preceding year. The 2014 RFS obligations should have been finalized by November 30, 2013.
Christopher Grundler
In a telephone call to reporters, Christopher Grundler, director of the EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, emphasized that while the package would cover three years, it would not combine the RFS requirements for those years.
But Grundler said that taking a three-year approach has allowed the agency to be “more strategic” and to become “unstuck” from the conflict between congressional intent to grow the volumes of renewable fuels and “where things stand now,” meaning that gasoline volumes declined and that most gasoline already contains 10 percent ethanol.
The question for the future, Grundler continued, is “How do we continue to grow volumes beyond the blend wall.”
But he noted that most gasoline stations do not sell higher ethanol volumes such as E15 and E85.
The proposals to be announced June 1 will detail EPA’s thinking in finalizing the regulation and "we will continue along that path for subsequent years,” Grundler said.
Asked what would happen if EPA misses these deadlines, he said that missing the deadlines “is not an option.”
Writing a regulation in one year, as Congress mandated under the RFS, is difficult and most government regulations take two years to finalize, he said.
Asked whether he would advise Congress to rewrite the RFS, Grundler said, “Far be it from me to provide advice to the Congress of the United States.”
Tom Buis
Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis praised EPA’s decision to announce the schedule.
“I am pleased to hear that the EPA has finally put a process in place to establish some certainty for biofuel producers with the recent announcement of the timeline for the proposed 2015 RVO [Renewable Volume Obligation] rule by June 1, as well as the final 2014 and 2015 volume obligations by November 30, 2015,” Buis said in a news release.
“Our producers have faced ambiguity for too long and today is welcome news that they are establishing a level of certainty with this announcement,” he said.
“However, far more important than timing is that the EPA establishes a final rule that moves our industry forward, and reflects the bipartisan vision Congress intended for the RFS,” Buis said.
“Additionally, while not part of the consent decree, we are pleased to see that the EPA has committed to finalizing the 2016 RFS RVO numbers this year as well. By taking this action, they are ensuring that the RFS is back on a path to certainty for the biofuels industry, providing the necessary guidance for the industry to continue to thrive and advance alternative fuel options for American consumers.”
Bob Dinneen
The Renewable Fuels Association also welcomed the news.
“We applaud EPA and API for reaching an agreement that will provide all stakeholders some certainty with regard to the Renewable Fuel Standard,” RFA President Bob Dinneen said in a news release.
“No one has benefited from the delays in setting annual renewable volume obligations,” Dineen said. “And while we are sympathetic to the difficulty EPA faces in promulgating annual targets, the statute is clear about the volumes required and the agency simply has to do a better job moving forward. This consent agreement is a good start.”
“We are particularly pleased that the agency has committed to addressing the 2016 RVO in the same time frame even though that is outside the scope of the consent agreement,” he said.
“More important than EPA meeting its statutory deadlines, however, is that the agency recognize the market transforming purpose of the RFS and allow the RIN mechanism to drive investment in infrastructure and compel consumer choice at the pump.”
Brooke Coleman
Advanced Ethanol Council President Brooke Coleman said, “The scheduling agreement between the oil industry and EPA is actually a good signal for the advanced biofuels industry because it lays out a time frame and a reasonable market expectation for resolving the regulatory uncertainty around the RFS.”
“Now that we have a better idea of when it will happen, we look forward to working with EPA to make sure that the new RFS proposal supports the commercial deployment of advanced biofuels as called for by Congress,” Coleman said.
“We were encouraged by EPA’s decision late last year to pull a problematic 2014 proposal, and we are optimistic that EPA will make the necessary adjustments and put the RFS back on track going forward,” he said.
Brian Jennings
Brian Jennings, executive vice president of the American Coalition for Ethanol, said “ACE has consistently said it is much more important for EPA to get the RFS done right than it is for them to get the RFS done quickly, and that bears repeating given today’s announcement that the RFS will be getting back on track for implementation.”
“Last year Big Oil came close to bullying EPA to completely re-write the RFS so they could escape their legal responsibility to blend E15 and flex fuels into gasoline,” Jennings said.
“But thanks to comments from ACE members and other biofuel supporters, EPA wisely chose to abandon their proposal to set the 2014 RFS on the E10 blend wall,” he said.
“It appears EPA is going to get the RFS back on track for implementation. Our priority will continue to be to ensure EPA holds oil companies legally responsible under the RFS for making cleaner and less expensive fuel choices, such as E15 and E85, available to consumers.”
Stacy Linden
“We hope this agreement helps get the RFS back on track, but the only long-term solution is for Congress to repeal the program and let consumers, not the federal government, choose the best fuel to put in their vehicles,” API Vice President and General Counsel Stacy Linden said.
“Failure to repeal the unworkable law could put millions of motorists at risk of higher fuel costs, damaged engines, and costly repairs.”
Proposed and final standards for 2016 are also to be released this year, on the same schedule.
EPA said it is announcing the 2014 and 2015 dates as a proposed settlement with the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers over deadlines for issuing the annual requirements under the RFS.
“Under the proposed consent decree, the agency would issue final annual volume standards for 2014 and 2015 by the end of this year,” EPA said.
“Although not required by the consent decree, EPA will also finalize the standards for 2016 this year,” the agency said.
“This schedule is consistent with EPA’s commitment to get the RFS program back on track, while providing certainty to renewable fuels markets and promoting the long-term growth of renewable fuels.”
EPA said the proposed consent decree does not address the content or substance of the volume standards, and that it establishes the following schedule:
- By June 1, the agency will propose volume requirements for 2015;
- By November 30, EPA will finalize volume requirements for 2014 and 2015 and resolve a pending waiver petition for 2014.
EPA also announced today that:
- It will propose and finalize the RFS standards for 2016 on the same timeline (proposal by June 1, final by November 30);
- It will propose and finalize the RFS biomass-based diesel volume requirement for 2017 on the same schedule; and
- It will re-propose volume requirements for 2014 that reflect the volumes of renewable fuel that were actually used in 2014.
“Biofuels are an important part of the president’s energy strategy, helping to curb dependence on foreign oil, cut carbon pollution and drive innovation,” EPA said in a notice to reporters.
“As with any settlement of litigation alleging failure to meet a deadline under the Clean Air Act, EPA will seek public comment on the terms of the settlement for 30 days before deciding whether to proceed with the settlement and seek entry of the consent decree,” EPA said.
API and AFPM on March 18 filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia against the EPA, charging that the agency was “disregarding statutory deadlines.”
Those deadlines require the agency to promulgate final RFS obligations for a particular year by November 30 of the preceding year. The 2014 RFS obligations should have been finalized by November 30, 2013.
Christopher Grundler
In a telephone call to reporters, Christopher Grundler, director of the EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, emphasized that while the package would cover three years, it would not combine the RFS requirements for those years.
But Grundler said that taking a three-year approach has allowed the agency to be “more strategic” and to become “unstuck” from the conflict between congressional intent to grow the volumes of renewable fuels and “where things stand now,” meaning that gasoline volumes declined and that most gasoline already contains 10 percent ethanol.
The question for the future, Grundler continued, is “How do we continue to grow volumes beyond the blend wall.”
But he noted that most gasoline stations do not sell higher ethanol volumes such as E15 and E85.
The proposals to be announced June 1 will detail EPA’s thinking in finalizing the regulation and "we will continue along that path for subsequent years,” Grundler said.
Asked what would happen if EPA misses these deadlines, he said that missing the deadlines “is not an option.”
Writing a regulation in one year, as Congress mandated under the RFS, is difficult and most government regulations take two years to finalize, he said.
Asked whether he would advise Congress to rewrite the RFS, Grundler said, “Far be it from me to provide advice to the Congress of the United States.”
Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis praised EPA’s decision to announce the schedule.
“I am pleased to hear that the EPA has finally put a process in place to establish some certainty for biofuel producers with the recent announcement of the timeline for the proposed 2015 RVO [Renewable Volume Obligation] rule by June 1, as well as the final 2014 and 2015 volume obligations by November 30, 2015,” Buis said in a news release.
“Our producers have faced ambiguity for too long and today is welcome news that they are establishing a level of certainty with this announcement,” he said.
“However, far more important than timing is that the EPA establishes a final rule that moves our industry forward, and reflects the bipartisan vision Congress intended for the RFS,” Buis said.
“Additionally, while not part of the consent decree, we are pleased to see that the EPA has committed to finalizing the 2016 RFS RVO numbers this year as well. By taking this action, they are ensuring that the RFS is back on a path to certainty for the biofuels industry, providing the necessary guidance for the industry to continue to thrive and advance alternative fuel options for American consumers.”
The Renewable Fuels Association also welcomed the news.
“We applaud EPA and API for reaching an agreement that will provide all stakeholders some certainty with regard to the Renewable Fuel Standard,” RFA President Bob Dinneen said in a news release.
“No one has benefited from the delays in setting annual renewable volume obligations,” Dineen said. “And while we are sympathetic to the difficulty EPA faces in promulgating annual targets, the statute is clear about the volumes required and the agency simply has to do a better job moving forward. This consent agreement is a good start.”
“We are particularly pleased that the agency has committed to addressing the 2016 RVO in the same time frame even though that is outside the scope of the consent agreement,” he said.
“More important than EPA meeting its statutory deadlines, however, is that the agency recognize the market transforming purpose of the RFS and allow the RIN mechanism to drive investment in infrastructure and compel consumer choice at the pump.”
Advanced Ethanol Council President Brooke Coleman said, “The scheduling agreement between the oil industry and EPA is actually a good signal for the advanced biofuels industry because it lays out a time frame and a reasonable market expectation for resolving the regulatory uncertainty around the RFS.”
“Now that we have a better idea of when it will happen, we look forward to working with EPA to make sure that the new RFS proposal supports the commercial deployment of advanced biofuels as called for by Congress,” Coleman said.
“We were encouraged by EPA’s decision late last year to pull a problematic 2014 proposal, and we are optimistic that EPA will make the necessary adjustments and put the RFS back on track going forward,” he said.
Brian Jennings, executive vice president of the American Coalition for Ethanol, said “ACE has consistently said it is much more important for EPA to get the RFS done right than it is for them to get the RFS done quickly, and that bears repeating given today’s announcement that the RFS will be getting back on track for implementation.”
“Last year Big Oil came close to bullying EPA to completely re-write the RFS so they could escape their legal responsibility to blend E15 and flex fuels into gasoline,” Jennings said.
“But thanks to comments from ACE members and other biofuel supporters, EPA wisely chose to abandon their proposal to set the 2014 RFS on the E10 blend wall,” he said.
“It appears EPA is going to get the RFS back on track for implementation. Our priority will continue to be to ensure EPA holds oil companies legally responsible under the RFS for making cleaner and less expensive fuel choices, such as E15 and E85, available to consumers.”
“We hope this agreement helps get the RFS back on track, but the only long-term solution is for Congress to repeal the program and let consumers, not the federal government, choose the best fuel to put in their vehicles,” API Vice President and General Counsel Stacy Linden said.
“Failure to repeal the unworkable law could put millions of motorists at risk of higher fuel costs, damaged engines, and costly repairs.”
