1. Ask for comment on how to account for carryover RINs in methodology.

“... Were unforeseen circumstances to occur, the only flexibility remaining to avoid noncompliance would be a waiver of the RFS standards under our general authority (beyond that being proposed today). This process requires notice and comment and

thus could be delayed beyond the time period during which the unforeseen circumstances were occurring. For this reason, we have not accounted for carryover RINs in our assessment of the reductions in the statutory volume requirements that would be appropriate in setti ng the RFS standards for 2014. For years after 2014 , if circumstances differ substantially from those described here for 2013 and 2014, or if further analysis of the RINs market suggests additional adjustments, we may again consider the existence of carry over RINs in the

standard

- setting process depending on the number of carryover RINs expected to be available and projections of supply and consumption of renewable fuels

. We ask for comment on whether and how to account for carryover RINs in selecting

rea sonably attainable standards

.

2. Add discussion of how RIN prices provide incentives:

“...Therefore we believe that 400 mill gal is a reasonable upper end of the range of possible volumes of E85 for 2014. However, w e acknowledge that the volume of

E85 so ld into the market is likely also a function of the blendwall and to the extent that the proposed volumes lead to lower RIN prices, the incentives for fuel vendors

to market E85 and other blends of ethanol above E10 will may also be lower. We do

not know the extent to which lower RIN prices will result in diminished incentives for those higher blends, but request comment and data from the public that would help estimate the impact of lowering volumetric requirements on the incentive to sell higher ethanol blends than E10...”

3 . Add a suggestion of how additional data might be used to select from within the

range. The proposed rule sets the biodiesel mandate at 1.28 bgal for 2014 and

2015. The capacity for biodiesel domestic production is around 2 bgal. Current production suggests that with a blenders credit and current advanced biofuel

mandate , biodiesel production would be above 1.28 bgal. We suggest that you ask for comment on how the advanced mandate may be adjusted in the final rule or in

the 2015 rule to allow for more biodiesel if it is “reasonably attainable”.“... In today's NPRM, we are proposing to use the mean value for the final volume

requirement for total renewable fuel because we believe it best represents a neutral

aim at renewable fuel volumes that could reasonably be supplied. However, we request comment on whether there are data or analysis that would suggest that one of the alternative values shown in Table IV.B.4

- 3 would be more appropriate as the basis for the required volume of to tal r enewable fuel in the final rule. For example, additional data used to determine the appropriate value in the final rule might include updated projections of motorfuel demand, new biofuel laws in the US or countries that export biofuels to the US, new data on the blendwall, or the availability of surplus RIN stocks from over

- compliance in previous years...”

4 . Signaling 2015 is important for investment decisions. Similarly, keeping flexibility for increasing the mandates is important if the 2014 levels are set too low to keep existing capacity under operation. We would not like to strand previous investment s in biofuel infrastructure because of poor projections in an earlier year. One indicator of that would be how obligated parties manage surplus RINs. If excess RIN stocks as a percentage of the total mandate are increasing that would indicate that the ma ndates have been set too

low.

“... E. Volume Requirements for 2015

The issues concerning availability of qualifying renewable fuels and the ethanol blendwall that provided the impetus for the approach described above will

continue to be relevant in 2015 and beyond. We would intend to propose the same general approach in determining appropriate volume requirements for 2015 and beyond as we have in today's proposed rule, subject to potential adjustments to that approach based on comments received in respon se to this NPRM. We would also use the most recently available information to update the projected range of potential volumes in each of these areas:

• Changes to motorfuel demand

Volume of E15

- E85 that could be consumed

• Available volumes of cellulo sic biofuel

• Available volumes of biomass

- based diesel

• Available volumes of advanced biofuel

• Available volumes of non

- advanced renewable fuel Changes to stocks of RINs held in excess of mandated volumes ...”