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Determination on Government of Canada Petition for an Aggregate Compliance Approach 

for Canadian Planted Crops and Crop Residues 

I. Summary 

 On December 9, 2010, EPA finalized new regulatory provisions as part of the 

Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) program regulations to establish procedures for petitions to 

request EPA authorization of an aggregate compliance approach for renewable biomass 

verification for crops and crop residues grown in foreign countries. EPA subsequently received 

a petition from the Government of Canada requesting that EPA approve an aggregate 

compliance approach for planted crops and crop residue from Canada. EPA published notice of 

this petition in the Federal Register on March 15, 2011 (76 FR 14007, March 15, 2011) and 

solicited comments from the public on all aspects of the petition. The petition and all comments 

received are available at Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR- 2011-0199, found at 

www.regulations.gov. EPA has determined that the criteria for approval of the petition have 

been satisfied and, effective immediately, approves the use of an aggregate compliance approach 

to renewable biomass verification for planted crops and crop residue grown in Canada. 

 This document contains information summarizing the petition requirements and 

process, the petition submitted by the Government of Canada, the factors that EPA considers in 

evaluating a petition, EPA’s analysis of the Canadian petition, EPA’s response to public 

comments received, and EPA’s final determination that an aggregate compliance approach will 

provide reasonable assurance that planted crops and crop residue from Canada meet the 

definition of renewable biomass and will continue to meet the definition of renewable biomass, 

based on credible, reliable and verifiable data. 
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II. Factors that EPA considers in evaluating petitions 

EPA regulations at 40 CFR 80.1457(a) describe several factors that EPA will consider as part 

of its evaluation of any petition submitted. These factors include: 

a. Whether there has been a reasonable identification of the ‘‘2007 baseline area of land,’’ 

defined as the total amount of cropland, pastureland, and land that is equivalent to U.S. 

Conservation Reserve Program land in the country in question that was actively managed 

or fallow and nonforested on December 19, 2007, taking into account the definitions of 

terms such as ‘‘cropland,’’ ‘‘pastureland,’’ ‘‘planted crop,’’ and ‘‘crop residue’’ included 

in the final RFS2 regulations. 

b. Whether information on the total amount of cropland, pastureland, and land that is 

equivalent to U.S. Conservation Reserve Program land in the country in question for 

years preceding and following calendar year 2007 shows that the 2007 baseline area of 

land is not likely to be exceeded in the future. 

c. Whether economic considerations, legal constraints, historical land use and agricultural 

practices and other factors show that it is likely that producers of planted crops and crop 

residue will continue to use agricultural land within the 2007 baseline area of land 

identified into the future, as opposed to clearing and cultivating land not included in the 

2007 baseline area of land. 

d. Whether there is a reliable method to evaluate, on an annual basis, if the 2007 baseline 

area of land is being or has been exceeded. 
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e. Whether a credible and reliable entity has been identified to conduct data gathering and 

analysis, including annual identification of the aggregate amount of cropland, 

pastureland, and land that is equivalent to U.S. Conservation Reserve Program land, that 

is needed for an annual EPA determination under 40 CFR 80.1454(g)(1) of whether the 

2007 baseline area of land has been exceeded, and whether the data, analyses, and 

methodologies are publicly available. 

In addition, EPA will consider whether all petition submission requirements specified in 40 CFR 

80.1457(b) have been satisfied. 

III.Petition Requirements 

The regulations at 40 CFR 80.1457(b) require certain information to be submitted to EPA 

as part of a petition to request EPA authorization of an aggregate compliance approach for 

renewable biomass verification for planted crops and crop residue grown in foreign 

countries. These requirements are reproduced below: 

(b) Any petition and all supporting materials submitted under . . . this section must be 

submitted both in English and its original language (if other than English), and must 

include all of the following or an explanation of why it is not needed for EPA to consider 

the petition:
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(1) Maps or electronic data identifying the boundaries of the land for which the 

petitioner seeks approval of an aggregate compliance approach. 

(2) The total amount of land that is cropland, pastureland, or land equivalent to U.S. 

Conservation Reserve Program land within the geographic boundaries specified in 

paragraph (b)(1) of this section that was cleared or cultivated prior to December 

19, 2007 and that was actively managed or fallow and nonforested on that date. 

(3) Land use data that demonstrates that the land identified in paragraph (b)(1) of this 

section is cropland, pastureland or land equivalent to U.S. Conservation Reserve 

Program land that was cleared or cultivated prior to December 19, 2007, and that 

was actively managed or fallow and nonforested on that date, which may include 

any of the following: 

i. Satellite imagery or data. 

ii. Aerial photography. 

iii. Census data. 

iv. Agricultural survey data. 

v. Agricultural economic modeling data. 

(4) Historical land use data for the land within the geographic boundaries specified in 

paragraph (b)(1) of this section to the current year, which may include any of the 

following: 

i. Satellite imagery or data. 

ii. Aerial photography. 
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iii. Census data. 

iv. Agricultural surveys. 

v. Agricultural economic modeling data. 

(5) A description of any applicable laws, agricultural practices, economic 

considerations, or other relevant factors that had or may have an effect on the use 

of agricultural land within the geographic boundaries specified in paragraph (b)(1) 

of this section, including information regarding the efficacy and enforcement of 

relevant laws and regulations. 

(6) A plan describing how the petitioner will identify a credible and reliable entity 

who will, on a continuing basis, conduct data gathering, analysis, and submittal to 

assist EPA in making an annual determination of whether the criteria specified in 

paragraph (a) of this section (i.e., that an aggregate compliance approach provides 

reasonable assurance that planted crops and crop residue meet the definition of 

renewable biomass and will continue to do so) remains satisfied. 

(7) A letter, signed by a national government representative at the ministerial level or 

equivalent, confirming that the petition and all supporting data have been 

reviewed and verified by the ministry (or ministries) or department(s) of the 

national government with primary expertise in agricultural land use patterns, 

practices, data, and statistics, that the data support a finding that planted crops and 

crop residue from the specified country meet the definition of renewable biomass 

and will continue to meet the definition of renewable biomass, and that the 

responsible national government ministry (or ministries) or department(s) will 
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review and verify the data submitted on an annual basis to facilitate EPA's annual 

evaluation of the 2007 baseline area of land specified in §80.1454(g)(1) for the 

country in question. 

(8) Any additional information the Administrator may require. 

IV.Compliance by the Government of Canada with the petition requirements 

A. Identification of boundaries. 

In Section 5.0 of their petition, the Government of Canada defines the boundaries of the land 

for which they seek approval of an aggregate compliance approach, noting that their petition and 

supporting analysis applies for the whole of Canada. They note that the geographical regions 

that produce crop and crop residues are concentrated in the southern part of the country, and, as 

required, have provided maps of Canada that identify the agricultural land within Canada in 2007 

(see Appendix 1, Figure 1). EPA finds that the Government of Canada has satisfied the petition 

submission requirement at 40 CFR 80.1457(b)(1). 

B. Calculation of 2007 baseline acreage 

The Government of Canada has identified the total amount of land that is cropland, 

pastureland or land equivalent to U.S. CRP land that is within Canada and that was cleared or 

cultivated prior to December 19, 2007 and was actively managed or fallow and nonforested on 

that date. In Appendix 1, Table 2, the Government of Canada cross-referenced the land use 

categories they used in determining their baseline acreage of land with those categories used in 
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defining “existing agricultural land” for purposes of RFS2, to ensure that their calculations are 

consistent with the RFS2 regulations. The Government of Canada has calculated that the 

baseline amount of agricultural land in Canada that it believes is consistent with the RFS2 

definition of “existing agricultural land” as 124 million acres. EPA finds that the Government 

of Canada has satisfied the petition submission requirement at 40 CFR 80.1457(b)(2). 

C. Land use data supporting calculation of baseline acreage. 

The Government of Canada utilized several types of land use data to demonstrate that the 

land included in their proposed 124 million acre baseline is cropland, pastureland or land 

equivalent to U.S. Conservation Reserve Program land that was cleared or cultivated prior to 

December 19, 2007, and was actively managed or fallow and nonforested on that date (and is 

therefore RFS2 qualifying land). To identify the amount of qualifying cropland, the petition 

refers to data collected through Statistics Canada’s annual crop survey for all annual, perennial 

and horticultural crops (minus Christmas tree, sod and nursery crops, which are taken from the 

Censuses of Agriculture). To define the amount of pastureland, the petition cites to data from the 

2006 Census of Agriculture on tame or seeded pasture, which is the Canada Census of 

Agriculture equivalent to the US Census of Agriculture category of cropland used only for 

pasture or grazing (a subsection of pastureland). Finally, to estimate the amount of land 

equivalent to U.S. Conservation Reserve Program land, the petitioner used data collected through 

Statistics Canada’s Farm Environmental Management Survey (FEMS) in 2006. This survey 

collects data on seasonal wetlands, which are equivalent to US farmable wetlands, and riparian 

buffer zones, field shelterbelts, and grassed waterways, which are lands used by farmers for 

conservation purposes, similar to those lands comprising U.S. CRP lands. EPA finds that the 
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Government of Canada has satisfied the petition submission requirement at 40 CFR 

80.1457(b)(3). 

D. Historical data 

The Government of Canada has provided annual agricultural land use trends for Canada 

since 1995 using Statistics Canada’s annual surveys and the Censuses of Agriculture from 1996, 

2001 and 2006. The data show that crop and pastureland use in Canada has been generally stable 

since 1991, with a slight negative trend. Table 3 in Appendix 1 of the petition shows that total 

crop and pastureland in Canada was 114.6 million acres in 1995, 113.4 million acres in 2007 and 

finally 112.7 million acres in 2010. Additionally, the amount of land in conservation practices is 

fairly stable at 9.8 million acres. EPA finds that the Government of Canada has satisfied the 

petition submission requirement at 40 CFR 80.1457(b)(4). 

E. Laws, practices, economic considerations and other factors that may have an effect on use 

of agricultural lands. 

 Canada identifies a number of laws, practices, considerations and other factors in support of 

their petition. First, the petition cites that EPA’s RFS2 modeling as showing little to no 

harvested crop area changes in Canada as a result of RFS2 and little contribution of biofuels 

made in Canada to the RFS2 program. Second, Canada’s Regulatory Impact Analysis for its 

own biofuels mandate, which requires an average renewable fuel content of five percent in 

gasoline and two percent in diesel and heating oil,1 reveals no significant changes in agricultural 

land use to support the mandate. Since Canada’s federal renewable fuel requirements are 

                                                           

1 http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca/ECOENERGY‐ECOENERGIE/renewablefuels‐carburantsrenouvelables‐eng.cfm#a1
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expected to have negligible impact on crop prices, Canada’s RIA anticipates that there will be 

little impact on crop intensification at the national level and that changes in cropping activities 

are expected to take place within the existing crop land base.2 Third, the petition describes a long 

term trend in agricultural land use in Canada that involves decreasing acres of land left fallow in 

the summer in favor of continuous cropping. This more efficient use of existing land allows 

increased in crop production without conversion of non-agricultural land. The Government of 

Canada notes that, as in the U.S., increasing crop yields and other technological advances such as 

genetically engineered crops have also diminished the need for farmers to increase the amount of 

agricultural land in use. Additionally, the petition states that, due to weather, geographic and 

geological factors such as short growing seasons, there is virtually no incentive to convert nonagricultural and forest lands to agricultural land. 

Finally, the petition and supporting materials submitted by the Government of Canada 

describe the national and provincial land use policies that influence land use and would or could 

restrict expansion of agricultural land. The Government of Canada notes that over 41 percent of 

all land in Canada is federal Crown land governed by the federal government, 48 percent is 

provincial Crown land governed by the provincial government, and only 11 percent is privately 

owned (see page 2 of the Government of Canada’s submission entitled “Supplemental 

Information on Canada’s Aggregate Compliance Approach Petition stating that the majority of 

the land base in Canada is subject to governmental control.) 

The Government of Canada states that much of the land base in the northern part of the 

country is undesirable for crop production because of geographic conductions such as cold 

                                                           

2 http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp‐pr/p1/2010/2010‐04‐10/html/reg1‐eng.html
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climate, scarce water resources and poor soil conditions. Furthermore, the majority of these lands 

are restricted from agricultural use by the federal government under laws such as the Territorial 

Lands Act, R.S.C. 1985 and the Yukon Act, S.C. 2002. The Government of Canada argues that 

the limited amount of land in the north that is available for agricultural purposes is currently 

under production for local, non-renewable fuel purposes. Furthermore, in the other provinces in 

which most agricultural land resides, provincial laws such as Manitoba’s Crown Lands Act and 

Saskatchewan’s Provincial Lands Act govern the management and use of provincial Crown land, 

limiting uses based on various criteria, including, in some cases, environmental and habitat 

concerns. 

Additionally, the Government of Canada states that Canada has strong national and 

provincial policies against deforestation, and that the amount of forestland in Canada has not 

significantly changed since 1990. Canada’s has recently adopted a forest policy, A Vision for 

Canada’s Forests: 2008 and Beyond, that includes climate change considerations. Canada is also 

an active participant in numerous international forestry initiatives and a signatory on several 

legally binding international frameworks that affect forest policy in Canada. Canada also has 

national forest policies that regulate forest resources on public lands, and each province has its 

own forest policies that include monitoring and compliance regimes such as timber permits, 

quotas and significant penalties for violators. Canada has also implemented on the national level 

many sustainable development and conservation policies into its land management regime, 

including the establishment of protected areas, a national park system, endangered species 

protections, grassland protection, and soil conservation. Provincial governments have also 

implemented similar protections that govern public lands and provide economic incentives for 
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private lands to be donated for conservation purposes, prohibiting those lands to be converted for 

agricultural purposes. 

EPA finds that the Government of Canada has satisfied the petition submission 

requirement at 40 CFR 80.1457(b)(5). 

F. Plan for entity to assist in annual data collection. 

In its petition, the Government of Canada identifies the Agricultural Division of Statistics 

Canada, in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, as the entity that will conduct 

annual data compilation and analysis to determine whether the baseline level of agricultural land 

has been exceeded. The petition states that Statistics Canada will provide EPA with preliminary 

data, analysis of the data and a report each October in time for EPA’s November determination. 

EPA finds that the Government of Canada has satisfied the petition submission requirement at 40 

CFR 80.1457(b)(6). 

G. Letter from national government representative. 

The Government of Canada has submitted a letter from the Minister of Agriculture and Agrifood confirming that the petition and all supporting data have been reviewed and verified by 

experts in the organization, and stating that the data support a finding that planted crops and crop 

residue from Canada meet the definition of renewable biomass and will continue to do so. 

Additionally, the petition includes a certificate from Statistics Canada stating that all supporting 

data, analyses and justifications provided in the petition have been reviewed and verified by the 

relevant subject matter experts and senior officials in the Agriculture Division of Statistics 

Canada. These letters confirm that these entities will also review and verify the data submitted 
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by Canada on an annual basis to facilitate EPA's annual evaluation of the 2007 baseline. EPA 

finds that the Government of Canada has satisfied the petition submission requirement at 40 CFR 

80.1457(b)(7). 

V. Analysis and discussion 

As described in Section II, in determining whether to grant a petition for the application of 

the aggregate compliance approach to a foreign country, EPA will consider several factors 

specified in 40 CFR 80.1457. 

EPA believes that while the Government of Canada has appropriately calculated the total 

amount of existing agricultural land in 2007 Canada to be 123.2 million acres (see Section 5.8 of 

the petition). This is the total amount of “cropland,” “pastureland,” (as these terms are defined in 

the RFS2 regulations) and land equivalent to U.S. CRP land in Canada that was actively 

managed or fallow and nonforested on December 19, 2007. EPA believes that Canada 

appropriately took into account the RFS2 regulatory definitions of the terms ‘‘cropland,’’ 

‘‘pastureland,’’ ‘‘planted crop,’’ and ‘‘crop residue’’ in identifying which Canadian land types 

from Canadian databases to include in their 2007 baseline amount of land. Canada has 

provided, in Tables 1 and 2 in Appendix 1 in their petition, a table comparing each land type and 

data sources used in setting the U.S. 2007 baseline amount of agricultural land with those used 

for purposes of defining the Canadian baseline amount of agricultural land. However, EPA 

believes that in setting the 2007 baseline amount of agricultural land eligible for RFS2, the 

amount of agricultural land should be rounded down to 123 million acres rather than up to 124 
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million, as proposed in the petition. We believe this is proper rounding technique and is 

comparable to the methodology used in setting the 2007 U.S. agricultural land baseline for the 

aggregate compliance approach. 

To calculate the amount of existing cropland and pastureland in 2007, the Government of 

Canada relied on the Census of Agriculture, which collects agricultural data every five years. 

The Census data is the leading source of agricultural information in Canada and is thoroughly 

analyzed by Statistics Canada, the country’s national statistics agency. The Census methodology 

and data are all publicly available on Statistics Canada’s website. Additionally, the Government 

of Canada supplemented the Census of Agriculture with Statistics Canada’s Farm Update 

Surveys which are conducted several times a year estimate the area of land actually seeded each 

year. The methodology for and results of these surveys are also available to the public on 

Statistics Canada’s website. Using these data sources, the Government of Canada determined 

that the total cropland area in Canada in 2007 was 99.0 million acres, and that the total 

pastureland was 14.4 million acres in 2007. 

Since Canada does not have a federal program comparable to the U.S. Conservation Reserve 

Program (CRP), in order to calculate the amount of land equivalent to U.S. CRP land, the 

Government of Canada used data on agricultural land under conservation practices through the 

Farm Environmental Management Survey (FEMS), which is a survey conducted every five years 

to collect information on wetlands, riparian buffers, field shelterbelts/windbreaks and grasses 

waterways. The FEMS questionnaires and results are publicly available on the Statistics Canada 

website. In order to ensure that the FEMS data used was equivalent to the U.S. CRP land data 

used, the Government of Canada excluded the data on permanent wetlands since they were 
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comparable to those lands in the U.S. Wetlands Reserve Program, which was excluded from the 

U.S. 2007 amount of CRP land. Using the FEMS date, the Government of Canada determined 

that the amount of agricultural lands under conservation practice in 2007 was 9.8 million acres. 

EPA believes that Canada has done a thorough assessment of the land types and amounts, 

and that the land categories identified and quantified by Canada in their petition are equivalent to 

those used by the U.S. in setting the 2007 baseline amount of agricultural land in the U.S. 

Furthermore, EPA believes that the data used, including the Canadian Census of Agriculture, 

annual crop surveys, and FEMS, are credible and reliable since they are conducted by Statistics 

Canada, Canada’s national statistics agency with primary expertise in collection, analysis and 

dissemination of data and statistics on agricultural land use patterns and practices in Canada. 

The data quality is thoroughly checked by Statistics Canada as well as provincial agricultural 

statistics departments and can be publicly viewed and verified on Statistics Canada’s website. 

EPA believes that the Canadian petition provides ample information demonstrating that the 

total amount of cropland, pastureland, and CRP equivalent land in Canada in calendar year 2007 

is not likely to be exceeded in the future. The historical data provided in the petition shows that 

the amount of crop and pastureland in Canada has been generally stable with a slight negative 

trend since 1991. Considering the other factors contemplated in the petition, it is reasonable to 

believe that the market forces maintaining the stability in the amount of Canadian agricultural 

land will continue to contribute to that stability into the future. We believe that the 

determination by the Government of Canada that the historical trends indicate that the amount of 

agricultural land in Canada is not likely to increase in the future has merit. 
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Furthermore, the petition provides an analysis of economic considerations, legal constraints, 

and agricultural practices, and other factors that show that it is likely that producers of planted 

crops and crop residue will continue to use agricultural land within the 2007 baseline area of land 

identified into the future, as opposed to clearing and cultivating land not included in the 2007 

baseline area of land. EPA finds the Government of Canada’s references to the more efficient 

use of land due to increasing crop yields and growing use of genetically engineered crops to be 

persuasive to support their argument that new lands are unlikely to be cleared because farmers 

are increasingly able to grow larger amounts of crops on existing agricultural land. Furthermore, 

EPA agrees that the evidence of increasing use of crop rotation and continuous cropping of 

existing cropland provided in the data (shown in the decrease in summer fallow area while 

overall agricultural land remains steady) supports the conclusion that the amount of Canadian 

agricultural land will likely remain steady in future years. Additionally, the petition references 

studies conducted by the US and Canadian governments in the context of analyzing both the 

U.S. and Canadian renewable fuels mandates showing that these laws are not likely to 

incentivize the clearing of new land to comply with the mandates. We recognize that while the 

RFS2 mandates will in part be met by feedstock grown in Canada, continued trends in increasing 

yields as anticipated in the US and the demand for feedstock relative to the amount of land 

already in crop production in Canada suggest fulfilling the RFS2 mandates will not drive 

significant changes in the amount of agricultural land in Canada. Finally, EPA agrees with 

Canada’s assessment of the restrictive effect of factors such as climate, weather, and land use 

policies on growing crops in Canada on lands that are not already captured in the 2007 baseline 
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area of land. Taken together, we believe that this information relevant to the factors specified in 

40 CFR 1457(a)(1)-(3) weigh in favor of approval of the Canadian petition. 

The Government of Canada has also identified a reliable method to evaluate, on an annual 

basis, if the 2007 baseline area of land is being or has been exceeded. The petition states that the 

Agricultural Division of Statistics Canada, in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food 

Canada, will be the entity that will conduct annual data compilation and analysis to provide EPA 

with data, analysis of the data and a report each October in time for EPA’s November 

determination of whether the Canadian baseline acreage has been exceeded. The petition states 

that the Government of Canada will use a combination of annual crop surveys for field crops, 

summer fallow land, hay and forage, and greenhouse, sod and nurseries. They will add to the 

total acreage garnered from the annual surveys estimates of land in tame and seeded pasture and 

Christmas tree farms, based on trends calculated from the Census of Agriculture data. Finally, 

the annual amount of CRP equivalent land will be derived from an analysis of FEMS data trends. 

The Government of Canada has noted that all of the data used in setting the 2007 baseline 

amount of agricultural land in Canada is available in the public domain and that the same 

publicly available data will be used in their annual data collection efforts. We believe that this 

information, relevant to the factors specified in 40 CFR 1457(a)(4)-(5) also weigh in favor of 

approval of the Canadian petition. 

Finally, the Government of Canada has proposed that if the total agricultural land acreage in 

Canada is found to be greater than 122 million acres (within 2 million acres of their proposed 

124 million acres baseline), then Statistics Canada will conduct further investigations to assist 

EPA in evaluating whether the presumption built into the aggregate compliance approach 
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remains valid. EPA agrees that including this investigatory trigger would help to ensure that the 

Canadian agricultural land baseline would not be exceeded. However, in light of EPA’s 

determination that the baseline will be set at 123 million acres rather than the 124 million acres 

proposed by the Government of Canada, we believe that the trigger for additional investigation 

should be a determination that the total agricultural land in Canada exceeds 121 million acres. 

Accordingly, our approval is conditioned on this amendment of Canada’s proposal. 

In sum, EPA finds that the Government of Canada has satisfied the petition submission 

requirements in 40 CFR 1457(b), and that an evaluation of the factors specified in 40 CFR 

1457(a)(1), which essentially mirror the factors that EPA considered in adopting the aggregate 

compliance approach for domestic planted crops and crop residue, (see 75 F.R. 14701 col. 3, 

March 26, 2010), support EPA approval of the Canadian petition. 

VI.Public participation 

 Pursuant to 40 CFR 80.1457, EPA published a notice in the Federal Register of receipt 

of the petition from the Government of Canada and solicited comments from the public on all 

aspects of that petition. 76 FR 14007 (March 15, 2011). EPA placed the petition and all 

supporting documentation and data supplied by Canada in the public docket, and provided a 60-

day comment period. EPA received and took into consideration the public comments on the 

Canadian petition. 

All comments supported the petition submitted by the Government of Canada and urged EPA 

to approve the petition to apply the aggregate compliance approach to planted crops and crop 

residue grown on Canadian agricultural land. The commenters state that they believe the 
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Canadian petition meets all of the regulatory requirements, that it relies on credible, reliable data 

that is publically available, and that Canada has proposed an adequate plan for making the annual 

determination. Furthermore, those commenters argue that Canada’s proposed baseline amount of 

agricultural land in 2007 is a conservative estimate, that the amount of agricultural land in 

Canada has remained constant for decades, and that the RFS2 program will not contribute to the 

clearing of new lands in Canada. EPA agrees with the commenters that it is appropriate to 

approve an aggregate compliance approach for Canada. 

VII. Conclusion 

After a thorough assessment of the petition and supporting information submitted by the 

Government of Canada, and consideration of all public comments received, EPA has determined, 

based on credible, reliable and verifiable data provided by the Government of Canada, that an 

aggregate compliance approach will provide reasonable assurance that planted crops and crop 

residue from Canada meet the definition of renewable biomass and will continue to meet the 

definition of renewable biomass. Therefore, effective immediately, any producer or RINgenerating importer of renewable fuel made from planted crops or crop residue from existing 

Canadian agricultural land will be covered by the aggregate compliance approach and will not be 

subject to the recordkeeping requirements for planted crops and crop residue at §80.1454(g)(2) 

unless EPA publishes a finding that the 2007 baseline amount of agricultural land in Canada 

(123 million acres) has been exceeded or that the withdrawal of EPA approval of the aggregate 

compliance approach is warranted pursuant to §80.1457(e). 
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VIII. Implementation 

The aggregate compliance approach for planted crops and crop residues grown in Canada is 

effective immediately. RINs may be generated by renewable fuel producers and importers in 

reliance on the aggregate compliance approach for renewable biomass verification to represent 

renewable fuel produced from Canadian crops and crop residue feedstocks from today forward, 

regardless of when the Canadian crops and crop residue were harvested, and providing that the 

fuel had not already been sold by the renewable fuel producer or importer to another party. 

Biofuel derived from Canadian crop or crop residue that was sold by a producer or importer prior 

to today was eligible for RIN generation only if the RIN generator was in possession of the 

relevant renewable biomass records as required in 40 CFR 80.1454. Renewable fuel producers 

and RIN-generating importers must comply with all RFS program regulations in 40 CFR Part 80, 

Subpart M, including the requirements of sections 80.1426 and 80.1452. 

As described in its petition and supporting information, the Government of Canada will 

provide EPA with information on an annual basis to assist EPA in determining if the 2007 

baseline acreage of agricultural land (123 million acres) has been exceeded, and if EPA 

determines that the acreage exceeds 121 million acres, Statistics Canada will conduct further 

investigate to assist EPA in evaluating whether the presumption built into the aggregate 

compliance approach remains valid. 

EPA’s approval of the aggregate compliance approach for Canada may be revoked for any of 

the reasons specified in 40 CFR 80.1457(e)(1), including: (1) EPA determination that the