SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR THE

RENEWABLE FUELS STANDARD (RFS2) PROGRAM (Draft)

January 8, 2013

A. JUSTIFICATION

1. Identification of the Information Collection

a. Title: Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) Program, EPA ICR No. 2333.03, OMB 

Control Number 2060-0640.

b. Short characterization:

The Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005 amended the Clean Air Act, section 

211(o), and required the existing RFS program. The existing RFS program is referred to 

in this supporting statement as "RFS1". The RFS1 program started in 2006 and was 

covered by EPA ICR No. 2242.02, OMB Control Number 2060-0600. Please refer to 

“Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Renewable Fuel Standard Program – Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking” and “Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Renewable Fuel 

Standard Program – Final Rule” (both available in docket number EPA-HQ-OAR-2005-

0161) for a detailed discussion of the RFS1 program”. 

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 further amends the 

Clean Air Act, section 211(o), and has required EPA to propose new regulations for 

renewable fuels. The new RFS program is referred to in this supporting statement as 

"RFS2." Under RFS2, the volume requirement and types of renewable fuels are 

expanded; non-road uses are included (RFS1 only affected motor vehicle fuel); there are 

additional types of waivers and special provisions for renewable fuel types; and EPA will 

implement an EPA-Moderating Transaction System (EMTS) for RINs. Additional 

parties will be required to register, keep records, and report. Please refer to the Final 

Rule (available in docket number EPA-HQ-OAR-2005-0161) for a detailed discussion of 

the RFS2 program. 

For compliance purposes, under both RFS1 and RFS2, volumes of renewable fuel 

are identified through the use of renewable identification numbers (RINs) that are 

initially generated by the producer of the renewable fuel. However, under RFS2, there 

are additional types of RINs and the volume of RINs traded is expected to be greater. 

This supporting statement provides tables that break down reporting items by

party (e.g. producer, importer, refiner, etc.) Parties who are interested in recordkeeping 

and reporting burden will want to review the tables containing our estimates carefully. 

The RFS2 program includes provisions for EMTS for RINs, which was not a feature of 

RFS1. It also includes third-party disclosure provisions applicable to biofuel feedstock 

producer‘s who were not covered by recordkeeping and reporting under RFS1. 
The Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), which was prepared for the Final Rule, 

has been placed in the public docket. This document was consulted to provide additional 

detailed information about the regulated universe (see Chapter 1 of the draft RIA). We 

also considered the actual number of reporting parties under RFS1 and similar reporting 

programs.

 

2. Need For, and Use of, the Collection

a. Authority for the Collection

Sections 114 and 208 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 7414 and 7542, 

authorize EPA to require recordkeeping and reporting regarding enforcement of the 

provisions of Title II of the CAA. 

b. Practical Utility/Uses of the Data

The reporting requirements of this regulation will allow EPA to monitor 

compliance with the RFS program.

3. Non-duplication, Consultation, and other Collection Criteria

a. Non-duplication

Efforts have been made to eliminate duplication in this information collection. 

b. Public Notice

EPA is seeking comment on reporting requirements via the NPRM. We have also 

docketed a copy of our draft ICR supporting statement.

c. Consultations

We have drawn upon our experience with RFS1 and with similar fuels regulations 

to develop the estimates in this supporting statement. Interested parties may also be 

interested in reviewing "Chapter 1 – Industry Characterization" of the draft Regulatory

Impact Analysis (RIA) available in the public docket. 

d. Effects of Less Frequent Data Collection

We have designed the reporting schedule to coincide with existing reporting 

deadlines applicable to many of the same parties under such programs as RFG and antidumping and diesel fuel. Less frequent collection of data would make it impossible to 

carry out the provisions of the CAA and EISA. 
e. General Guidelines

This rule does not exceed any of the OMB guidelines.

f. Confidentiality

We inform respondents that they may assert claims of business confidentiality

(CBI) for information they submit. Under RFS2, actual RINs should not be treated as 

confidential business information under RFS2, as they are necessary identifiers to 

accompany renewable fuels. Any information claimed as confidential will be treated in 

accordance with 40 CFR Part 2 and established Agency procedures. Information that is 

received without a claim of confidentiality may be made available to the public without 

further notice to the submitter under 40 CFR § 2.203.

g. Sensitive Information

This information collection does not require submission of any sensitive 

information.

4. The Respondents and the Information Requested

a. Respondents/with NAICS and SIC Codes

The respondents to this information collection fall into the following general 

industry categories: petroleum refineries (324110/2911), ethyl alcohol manufacturers 

(325193/2869), other basic organic chemical manufacturing (325110/2869), chemical and 

allied products merchant wholesalers (426990/5169), petroleum bulk stations and 

terminals (422710/5171), petroleum and petroleum products merchant wholesalers 

(422720/5172), and other fuel dealers (454319/5989). 

Using the terminology associated with the RFS2 Final Rule, we have 

assumed the following classes of party, with the number of each in parenthesis:

 Producers of renewable fuels (500, of which 300 are biodiesel producers)

 Importers (75, of which 20 are biodiesel importers)

 Obligated Parties (150)

 Parties who own RINs ( 950)

 Foreign Refiners (10)



[Note: The above estimates are derived from the number of registered parties as 

of December, 2012, rounded up. The number of biodiesel producers is the 

number registered as of December, 2012, rounded up.]
For biofuel feedstock producers, we have assumed the following classes of party, 

with the number of each in parenthesis:

 (1,000,000) out of 10 million plantation and private forest owners in 

United States

 (30,966 ) foreign biofuel feedstock producers ( Estimated 3% of Domestic 

plantation and private forest owners )



[Note: The above estimates are derived from the following sources: A 

presentation given by Brent Butler, United States Forest Service in conjunction 

with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, entitled “Who Owns America’s 

Forest?,” dated May, 2008 estimates a 10,000,000 population of plantation and 

private forest owners. We have assumed 1 million owners or 10% to participate 

in RFS2. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook 

Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Farmers, Ranchers, and other Agricultural 

Managers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/farmersranchers-and -other agricultural-managers.htm Estimated 1,106,400 persons who 

claim farming as an occupation and for our purposes can be possible producers of 

feedstock for producers of renewable fuel. We estimated the number of foreign 

biofuel feedstock producers to be 30,192 which is 3% of the total of domestic 

feedstock producers (i.e., 3% of 1,006,400.)]

This supporting statement includes estimates reporting involving biofuel 

feedstock producers and plantation/private forest owners. These parties must 

provide certain information about their feedstock and lumber byproducts 

resources to biofuel producers and to EPA upon request. The RFS2 final rule 

contains provisions requiring recordkeeping/reporting and the mapping of certain 

plots of land (e.g. generating a Google map or similar representation), based upon 

an aggregate baseline approach. At this stage in the program, this information is 

required for foreign biofuel feedstock producers, domestic plantation/private 

forest owners and foreign plantation/private forest owners. Although we expect 

that this could lead to future burden on the part of certain biofuel producers who 

use croplands and wood byproducts, we do not expect that the domestic biofuels 

feedstock producers or those from Canada will be required to engage in 

recordkeeping and reporting activities under this provision at this time. Therefore, 

we are providing estimates related to this provision for the above named biofuels 

feedstock producers. We expect this to result in added burden during the three 

year period covered by this ICR. Estimates for future recordkeeping and 

reporting will be provided when the recordkeeping and reporting is expected to 

occur. See Table Vl: Biofuels Feedstock Producers.
b. Information Requested

A) Reporting: The individual reports required from regulated parties 

are described in the preamble. The following reports are required by the Final Rule: 

Annual Compliance Reports (obligated parties only), see table Vlll: Biofuels Feedstock 

Producers, required to provide information on the land used to provide feedstock to fuel 

producers, see table Vl: Quarterly Reports of Biofuels Party requires the submission of 

quarterly reports regarding generation and assignment of RINs (producers and importers 

only), See Table Vll: and Quarterly RIN Reports summarizing transactions and activity, 

and “real time” RIN transactional activity reporting within EMTS, see table Vllll. 

Reporting items include registration of parties engaged in activities covered by the RFS2 

regulation and reporting related to transactions involving RINs and associated volumes of 

fuel.

The exact reports filed will depend upon the activity engaged in by the party. A 

party must file reports appropriate for each activity it engages in – for example, if a party 

is both an exporter of renewable fuel and a producer of renewable fuel, then that party

must file the reports applicable to both activities. 

In the Final Rule, we establish that “real time” reporting within EMTS will be 

construed as within five (5) business days of a reportable event (e.g. generation and 

assignment of RINs, transfer of RINs). This means that some parties may elect to 

“batch” real time reports, similar to how businesses batch credit card transactions at the 

end of the day. We estimate that an average party would report daily, resulting in 365 

instances of reporting in EMTS per year. 

Quarterly reports are due as follows:

Quarterly Reporting Schedule for RFS2 Program

Quarter Covered by Quarterly Report Due Date for Quarterly Report

January - March May 31

April - June August 31

July - September November 30

October - December February 28

 

Annual reports are due on February 28 for the preceding year. 

For some reports, e.g. involving biofuel feedstock producers the frequency of reporting is 

“on occasion” (i.e., when a transaction requiring disclosure occurs). As discussed above, 

for EMTS purpose, we have assumed one instance of reporting per day for each day of 

the year, or 365 instances of reporting). 

 
Tables I - V estimate the recordkeeping and reporting burden by party. We will 

provide respondents the opportunity to engage in simplified, secure, electronic reporting 

via the Agency's Central Data Exchange (CDX) and its exchange network protocol. An 

attachment explaining the exchange network protocol is provided with this supporting 

statement. Respondents must keep copies of all reports filed for five (5) years.

B) Recordkeeping: Respondents must retain underlying records 

related to reports they file for five (5) years. This period is consistent with other fuels 

programs and with customary business practices (CBP) for the industry. Respondents 

must transfer volumes of fuel with product transfer documentation or bills of lading, 

which is already done in the course of business. 

5. The Information Collected, Agency Activities, Collection Methodology, and 

Information Management

a. Agency Activities

 All reports and registrations will be reviewed by EPA for completeness and 

for potential violations.

 Potential violations will be referred to enforcement personnel.

 Registration numbers will be issued for new registrants. 

 Contacting reporting parties if there is a problem with their submission.

b. Collection and Methodology and Management

We anticipate receiving data in a simplified and secure fashion via the Agency's 

CDX. Information claimed as CBI will be stored in appropriately controlled areas.

c. Small Entity Flexibility

This collection will not adversely affect small entities. The Final Rule describes 

flexibility provisions available to small entities. 

d. Collection Schedule

Registrations are received on a rolling basis, as updates may be sent in at any time 

and new parties may enter the regulated industry at any time. Reporting is as-needed, 

monthly, quarterly, and annual.

6. Estimating the Burden and Cost of Collection

a. Estimating the Respondent Universe 

We drew upon experience implementing similar regulations among the same 

entities to develop estimates of the burden associated with this collection. 
b. Estimating the Respondent Burden and Cost

Three labor categories are involved: managerial (includes legal and professional 

review), technical, and clerical. The estimates used the Bureau of Labor Statistics figures 

from "National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment & Wage Estimate 

“Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing” (May 2011), with a 3% annual inflation 

factor applied to bring the values to the present. Using this method, the following wages 

and benefits apply by category:

Wages and Benefits

Managerial $67.44 per hour

Technical $65.56 per hour

Clerical $22.17 per hour

Doubling for company overhead beyond wages and benefits, and for convenience, 

rounding up to the dollar, gives the following rates for this ICR:

Total Employer Cost

Managerial $135.00 per hour

Technical $131.00 per hour

Clerical $ 44.00 per hour

It is assumed that for each hour of activity the mix will be about 0.1 hour managerial, 0.7 

hour technical, and 0.2 hour clerical. This gives an average labor cost of $103 per hour, 

which will be used in this ICR. For purchased services related to attest engagements and 

some items of registration, we have doubled this hourly cost to $206 in order to more 

accurately reflect the cost of a certified public accountant (CPA) or licensed professional 

engineer's (PE) services.

c. Estimating the Agency Burden and Cost 

EPA must generate company and facility registration number(s) for new 

registrants and notify them of these numbers, which must appear on reports. Report 

formats and instructions/guidance must be prepared by Agency personnel. Reports will 

be processed by contractors and must be reviewed by Agency personnel. Reporting 

parties must be contacted if there is a problem with their submission. We have developed 

forms for RFS2 reporting to include four types, rather than one type, of RIN unlike the 

RFS1 templates. We have provided RFS2 reporting templates as an attachment to this 

document.
This supporting statement considers all Agency costs associated with accepting 

new registrants and new reports associated with RFS2, as expressed in EPA ICR Number 

2333.02. Using the RFS1, and the RFG and anti-dumping ICR, and other recent fuelsrelated ICRs as a guide in developing these initial estimates for RFS, we anticipate that 

RFS2 may require the equivalent labor of one full time GS-13 technical employees for a 

total of $115,000, and labor costs of $54,875 in the clerical category and $19,438 in the 

management category.

1

 Since we are using the CDX, some costs incurred by the Agency

will be tied to the number of registrants who send us reports. Specifically, there is an 

annual "subscription cost" associated with the use of CDX that is passed on to the EPA 

program office and we estimate that registrants due to RFS2 will cost our office 

approximately $200,000 per year in 2013, 2014 and 2015. We anticipate $266,666 in 

annual contract costs related to registration and reporting activities. We anticipate IT

development and testing costs at $ 600,000 divided by three years to yield an annual cost 

of $200,000. Adding the following values results in an annual estimated Agency burden 

as follows:

One GS-13 technical employee (full time) = $ 115,000

One GS-7 clerical worker (full-time) = 54,875

One GS-15 manager (1/8 time) = 19,438

Annual CDX subscription fee = 200,000

Annual contract costs = 266,666

Testing and development= 200,000

TOTAL = $855,979

 As with all items in this supporting statement, we strongly encourage comment 

on the estimated Agency burden and on the Agency activities associated with this 

proposed information collection. 

 

d. Estimating the Respondent Universe

We were able to estimate the number of regulated entities drawing upon 

experience regulating the same or similar entities. We were able to estimate the number 

of regulated entities drawing upon experience regulating the same or similar entities. 

 

1 These estimates are derived from "OPM Salary Table 2012-DCB," effective January 2012. This table 

may be found at http://www.opm.gov/oca/06tables/indexGS.asp. The extreme of step 10 was assumed for 

all categories. We have assumed a full-time GS-7 clerical worker, one full-time GS-13 technical worker, 

and a GS-15 manager working one-eighth of his/her time managing this project (0.125). All values were 

multiplied by 1.6 (which is a common factor utilized in ICRs to account for overhead costs). We rounded 

the resulting dollar value to the nearest thousand. This cost is per year.
e. Bottom Line Burden Hours and Costs

From the tables, we estimate the following totals:

TOTAL NO. OF RESPONDENTS: 2,092,731

TOTAL NO. OF RESPONSES: 2,702,531

TOTAL BURDEN HOURS: 6,379,263

TOTAL COST TO RESPONDENTS: $ 60,459,623

f. Reason for Change in Burden

At the onset of the RFS2 program, EMTS for RINs were not a feature of RFS1. 

For the new EMTS system, all parties who owned RINs were required to re-submit their 

application, disclose feedstock sources, prepare quarterly reports on RIN activity and 

submit annual compliance reports (obligated party only). Re-submittal provisions are no 

longer required which will cause a decrease in total responses for this ICR. EMTS users 

will not be burdened to submit more reports in this information collection, unlike the 

previous. The total responses for industry dropped from 4,525,625 to 2,092,731 a 

difference of 2,432894, now that the final rule is no longer requiring re-submissions or 

quarterly reports for certain party members. To date, biofuels producers and importers 

are required to submit quarterly reports along with their third party disclosure on 

feedstock producers to EPA. All users of the EMTS system are required to submit 

quarterly RIN reports. 

The number of respondents or users of the EMTS system has more than doubled 

from 1,059,326 to 2,092,731 an increase of 1,639,992, caused by the additional response 

burden for mapping foreign and domestic plantation/forest land owners and foreign 

biofuels feedstock producers which was not reflected in the previous ICR reporting 

period. With an increase of respondents, total burden hours have increased by more than 

4 million costing the industry $60,459,623 a decreased of $47,882,366. The reduction in 

the total cost for this renewal is due to the fact that the EMTS system’s automation 

structure helps users to prepare reports instantly, lessening the amount of time and cost 

needed to respond, even with more than a million added users. This notable factor 

increased the industry burden hours but, will lower the total cost of this information 

collection request if renewed. 

g. Burden Statement 

The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of 

information is estimated to be 2.4 hours per response. Burden means the total time, 

effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or 

disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed 
to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for 

the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and 

maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing 

ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; train 

personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; 

complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the 

information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 

and 48 CFR chapter 15. 

To comment on the Agency's need for this information, the accuracy of the 

provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent 

burden, including the use of automated collection techniques, EPA has established a 

public docket for this ICR under Docket ID number EPA-HQ-OAR-2005-0161, which is 

available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Air 

Docket in the EPA Docket Center in Washington, DC (EPA/DC). The docket is located 

in the EPA West Building, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 3334, and is open 

from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday, excluding 

legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the 

telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742. 

You may use www.regulations.gov to submit or view public comments, access 

the index listing of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in 

the public docket that are available electronically. When in the system, select “search,” 

then key in the Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OAR-2005-0161. Also, you can send 

comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 

and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for 

EPA. Please include the EPA Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OAR-2005-0161 and OMB 

Control Number 2060-NEW in any correspondence.

.