II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1148 

To amend the Clean Air Act to modify a provision relating to the renewable 

fuel program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2009 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. BOND, and Mr. THUNE) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Clean Air Act to modify a provision relating 

to the renewable fuel program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Renewable Fuel Stand5 ard Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD IMPROVEMENT. 

7 Section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 7545(o)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking 

2 ‘‘the Administrator’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sec3 retary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, 

4 and the Administrator’’; 

5 (B) in subparagraph (C)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘The term’’ and insert7 ing the following: 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term’’; 

9 (ii) in clause (i) (as designated by 

10 clause (i))— 

11 (I) by striking ‘‘the Adminis12 trator’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary 

13 of Energy’’; and 

14 (II) by striking ‘‘in 2005’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘during calendar year 

16 2008’’; and 

17 (iii) by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(ii) UPDATES.—For purposes of 

20 clause (i), the Secretary of Energy shall 

21 update, for calendar year 2011 and every 

22 3 calendar years thereafter, the baseline 

23 lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions using 

24 the date that is 3 years after the baseline 


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1 date used for the preceding 3-year pe2 riod.’’; 

3 (C) by striking subparagraph (D) and in4 serting the following: 

5 ‘‘(D) BIOMASS-BASED DIESEL.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘bio7 mass-based diesel’ means renewable fuel 

8 that is biodiesel (as defined in section 

9 312(f) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 

10 (42 U.S.C. 13220(f))). 

11 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSION OF CERTAIN FUEL.— 

12 The term ‘biomass-based diesel’ includes 

13 renewable fuel produced by a facility that 

14 commenced construction after December 

15 19, 2007, only if the renewable fuel has 

16 lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, as de17 termined by the Secretary of Agriculture 

18 and the Secretary of Energy, after notice 

19 and opportunity for comment, that are at 

20 least 50 percent less than the baseline 

21 lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. 

22 ‘‘(iii) ADVANCED BIOFUEL.—Notwith23 standing clauses (i) and (ii), a renewable 

24 fuel derived from coprocessing biomass 

25 with a petroleum feedstock shall be considVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:30 May 26, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1148.IS S1148

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1 ered to be an advanced biofuel if the re2 newable fuel— 

3 ‘‘(I) meets the requirements of 

4 subparagraph (B); but 

5 ‘‘(II) is not biomass-based die6 sel.’’; 

7 (D) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘the 

8 Administrator’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of 

9 Agriculture and the Secretary of Energy’’; 

10 (E) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 

11 second sentence; and 

12 (F) by striking subparagraphs (H) and (I) 

13 and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(H) LIFECYCLE GREENHOUSE GAS EMIS15 SIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘lifecycle 

17 greenhouse gas emissions’ means the ag18 gregate quantity of direct greenhouse gas 

19 emissions relating to the full fuel lifecycle, 

20 as determined by the Secretary of Agri21 culture and the Secretary of Energy based 

22 on— 

23 ‘‘(I) measurements taken using 

24 the most recent observable data; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) consideration of regional 

2 differences of renewable fuel produc3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—The term 

5 ‘lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions’ in6 cludes greenhouse gas emissions from all 

7 stages of fuel and feedstock production and 

8 distribution, from feedstock generation or 

9 extraction through the distribution and de10 livery and use of the finished fuel to the 

11 ultimate consumer, where the mass values 

12 for all greenhouse gases are adjusted to ac13 count for the relative global warming po14 tential of the greenhouse gases. 

15 ‘‘(iii) PEER REVIEW AND MODEL.— 

16 The Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec17 retary of Energy shall— 

18 ‘‘(I) carry out a peer review of 

19 any model used in measuring lifecycle 

20 greenhouse gas emissions; and 

21 ‘‘(II) make the results of the peer 

22 review and model publicly available 

23 before any public comment period pro24 vided in connection with the deterVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:30 May 26, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1148.IS S1148

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1 mination made under this subpara2 graph. 

3 ‘‘(I) RENEWABLE BIOMASS.—The term ‘re4 newable biomass’ means— 

5 ‘‘(i) materials, precommercial 

6 thinnings, or invasive species from Na7 tional Forest System land and public lands 

8 (as defined in section 103 of the Federal 

9 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

10 (43 U.S.C. 1702)) that— 

11 ‘‘(I) are byproducts of preventive 

12 treatments that are removed— 

13 ‘‘(aa) to reduce hazardous 

14 fuels; 

15 ‘‘(bb) to reduce or contain 

16 disease or insect infestation; or 

17 ‘‘(cc) to restore ecosystem 

18 health; 

19 ‘‘(II) would not otherwise be used 

20 for higher-value products; and 

21 ‘‘(III) are harvested in accord22 ance with— 

23 ‘‘(aa) applicable law and 

24 land management plans; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the requirements 

2 for— 

3 ‘‘(AA) old-growth main4 tenance, restoration, and 

5 management direction of 

6 paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) 

7 of subsection (e) of section 

8 102 of the Healthy Forests 

9 Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

10 U.S.C. 6512); and 

11 ‘‘(BB) large-tree reten12 tion of subsection (f) of that 

13 section; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) any organic matter that is avail15 able on a renewable or recurring basis 

16 from non-Federal land or land belonging to 

17 an Indian or Indian tribe that is held in 

18 trust by the United States or subject to a 

19 restriction against alienation imposed by 

20 the United States, including— 

21 ‘‘(I) renewable plant material, in22 cluding— 

23 ‘‘(aa) feed grains; 

24 ‘‘(bb) other agricultural 

25 commodities; 


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1 ‘‘(cc) other plants and trees; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(dd) algae; and 

4 ‘‘(II) waste material, including— 

5 ‘‘(aa) crop residue; 

6 ‘‘(bb) other vegetative waste 

7 material (including wood waste 

8 and wood residues); 

9 ‘‘(cc) animal waste and by10 products (including fats, oils, 

11 greases, and manure); and 

12 ‘‘(dd) food waste and yard 

13 waste.’’; 

14 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘the Administrator’’ 

17 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘the 

18 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 

19 Energy, and the Administrator’’; 

20 (ii) in clause (ii)(I), by striking ‘‘pro21 mulgates’’ and inserting ‘‘promulgate’’; 

22 and 

23 (iii) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘does 

24 not promulgate’’ and inserting ‘‘fail to pro25 mulgate’’; and 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

2 (i) in clause (ii)— 

3 (I) by striking ‘‘the Adminis4 trator, in coordination with the Sec5 retary of Energy and the Secretary of 

6 Agriculture’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sec7 retary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 

8 Energy, and the Administrator’’; and 

9 (II) in the matter following sub10 clause (VI), by striking ‘‘The Admin11 istrator’’ and inserting ‘‘The Sec12 retary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 

13 Energy, and the Administrator’’; and 

14 (ii) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘the Ad15 ministrator’’ each place it appears and in16 serting ‘‘the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

17 Secretary of Energy, and the Adminis18 trator’’; 

19 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

20 (A) in subparagraphs (A) and (B), by 

21 striking ‘‘the Administrator of the Environ22 mental Protection Agency’’ each place it ap23 pears and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Agri24 culture, the Secretary of Energy, and the AdVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:30 May 26, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1148.IS S1148

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1 ministrator of the Environmental Protection 

2 Agency’’; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘the 

4 Administrator’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of 

5 Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, and the 

6 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

7 Agency’’; 

8 (4) in paragraph (4)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ each place 

10 it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Agri11 culture, the Secretary of Energy, and the Ad12 ministrator’’; 

13 (B) by striking subparagraphs (D) and (E) 

14 and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(D) 5-YEAR REVIEW.—Not later than 5 

16 years after the date on which the Secretary of 

17 Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, and the 

18 Administrator make an adjustment under this 

19 paragraph, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

20 Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator 

21 shall review and revise (based on the same cri22 teria and standards as required for the initial 

23 adjustment) the regulations establishing the ad24 justed level. 

25 ‘‘(E) SUBSEQUENT ADJUSTMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro2 vided in subparagraph (D), after the Sec3 retary of Agriculture, the Secretary of En4 ergy, and the Administrator have promul5 gated a final rule under the last sentence 

6 of paragraph (2)(A)(i) with respect to the 

7 method of determining lifecycle greenhouse 

8 gas emissions, the Secretary of Agri9 culture, the Secretary of Energy, and the 

10 Administrator may adjust the percent 

11 greenhouse gas reduction levels only if the 

12 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 

13 Energy, and the Administrator determine 

14 that there has been a significant change in 

15 the analytical methodology used for deter16 mining the lifecycle greenhouse gas emis17 sions. 

18 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.— 

19 If the Secretary of Agriculture, the Sec20 retary of Energy, and the Administrator 

21 make a determination described in clause 

22 (i), the Secretary of Agriculture, the Sec23 retary of Energy, and the Administrator 

24 may adjust the 20-, 50-, or 60-percent re25 duction levels pursuant to a rulemaking 


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1 using the criteria and standards described 

2 in this paragraph.’’; 

3 (C) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘re4 vises’’ and inserting ‘‘revise’’; and 

5 (D) in subparagraph (G)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘adjusts, or revises, a 

7 percent level referred to in this paragraph 

8 or makes’’ and inserting ‘‘adjust or revise 

9 a percent level referred to in this para10 graph, or make’’; and 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘effective date of such 

12 adjustment, revision, or change’’ and in13 serting ‘‘date of enactment of the Energy 

14 Independence and Security Act of 2007 

15 (Public Law 110–140; 121 Stat. 1492)’’; 

16 (5) in paragraph (5)(E), by striking ‘‘Adminis17 trator’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Sec18 retary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, and 

19 the Administrator’’; 

20 (6) in paragraph (6)(B), by striking ‘‘the Ad21 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agen22 cy’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

23 Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the 

24 Environmental Protection Agency’’; 

25 (7) in paragraph (7)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

2 (i) in the matter preceding clause 

3 (i)— 

4 (I) by striking ‘‘Administrator, in 

5 consultation with the Secretary of En6 ergy and the Secretary of Agri7 culture,’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of 

8 Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, 

9 and the Administrator’’; and 

10 (II) by striking ‘‘the Adminis11 trator on his own motion’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

13 Secretary of Energy, and the Admin14 istrator on a joint motion’’; and 

15 (ii) in clauses (i) and (ii), by striking 

16 ‘‘the Administrator’’ each place it appears 

17 and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Agri18 culture, the Secretary of Energy, and the 

19 Administrator’’; 

20 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘Administrator, in con22 sultation with the Secretary of Energy and 

23 the Secretary of Agriculture,’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘Secretary of Agriculture, the SecVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:30 May 26, 2009 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1148.IS S1148

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1 retary of Energy, and the Administrator’’; 

2 and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘the Administrator’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Agri5 culture, the Secretary of Energy, and the 

6 Administrator’’; 

7 (C) in subparagraph (D)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘the Administrator’’ 

9 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘the 

10 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 

11 Energy, and the Administrator’’; 

12 (ii) in clause (i), in the second sen13 tence, by striking ‘‘makes such a reduc14 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘make such a reduc15 tion’’; 

16 (iii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘re17 duces’’ and inserting ‘‘reduce’’; and 

18 (iv) in clause (iii), in the fourth sen19 tence— 

20 (I) by striking ‘‘deems’’ and in21 serting ‘‘determine to be’’; and 

22 (II) by striking ‘‘determines’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘determine’’; 

24 (D) in subparagraph (E)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘Administrator, in con2 sultation with the Secretary of Energy and 

3 the Secretary of Agriculture,’’ each place it 

4 appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Agri5 culture, the Secretary of Energy, and the 

6 Administrator’’; 

7 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

8 (I) in the first sentence, by strik9 ing ‘‘the Administrator determines’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Agri11 culture, the Secretary of Energy, and 

12 the Administrator determine’’; and 

13 (II) in the second sentence, by 

14 striking ‘‘the Administrator makes’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Agri16 culture, the Secretary of Energy, and 

17 the Administrator make’’; and 

18 (iii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘the 

19 Administrator determines’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘the Secretary of Agriculture, the Sec21 retary of Energy, and the Administrator 

22 determine’’; and 

23 (E) in subparagraph (F)— 

24 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

25 by striking ‘‘the Administrator waives’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Agri2 culture, the Secretary of Energy, and the 

3 Administrator waive’’; and 

4 (ii) in the matter following clause (ii), 

5 by striking ‘‘the Administrator’’ each place 

6 it appears and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of 

7 Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, and 

8 the Administrator’’; 

9 (8) in paragraph (8)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘the 

11 Secretary of Energy shall conduct for the Ad12 ministrator’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of 

13 Agriculture and the Secretary of Energy shall 

14 conduct’’; 

15 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘the 

16 Secretary of Energy shall make specific rec17 ommendations to the Administrator’’ and in18 serting ‘‘the Secretary of Agriculture and the 

19 Secretary of Energy shall make specific rec20 ommendations’’; and 

21 (C) in subparagraph (D)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘the Administrator’’ 

23 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘the 

24 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 

25 Energy, and the Administrator’’; and 


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1 (ii) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘by the 

2 Secretary of Energy’’; 

3 (9) in paragraph (9)— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

5 clause (ii) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSION OF EXEMPTION.— 

7 ‘‘(I) STUDY.—Not later than De8 cember 31, 2008, the Secretary of Ag9 riculture and the Secretary of Energy 

10 shall conduct a study to determine 

11 whether compliance with the require12 ments of paragraph (2) would impose 

13 a disproportionate economic hardship 

14 on small refineries. 

15 ‘‘(II) EXTENSION OF EXEMP16 TION.—In the case of a small refinery 

17 that the Secretary of Agriculture and 

18 the Secretary of Energy determine 

19 under subclause (I) would be subject 

20 to a disproportionate economic hard21 ship if required to comply with para22 graph (2), the Secretary of Agri23 culture, the Secretary of Energy, and 

24 the Administrator shall extend the ex25 emption under clause (i) for the small 


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1 refinery for a period of not less than 

2 2 additional years.’’; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

4 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘the Ad5 ministrator’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary 

6 of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, 

7 and the Administrator’’; 

8 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘the Ad9 ministrator, in consultation with the Sec10 retary of Energy,’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sec11 retary of Agriculture, the Secretary of En12 ergy, and the Administrator’’; and 

13 (iii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘The 

14 Administrator’’ and inserting ‘‘The Sec15 retary of Agriculture, the Secretary of En16 ergy, and the Administrator’’; and 

17 (C) in subparagraphs (C) and (D), by 

18 striking ‘‘the Administrator’’ each place it ap19 pears and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Agri20 culture, the Secretary of Energy, and the Ad21 ministrator’’; 

22 (10) in paragraph (10)(B), by striking ‘‘the Ad23 ministrator’’ and inserting ‘‘the President’’; and 

24 (11) in paragraph (11), in the matter preceding 

25 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘the Administrator’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘the Secretary of Agriculture, the Sec2 retary of Energy, and the Administrator’’. 

Æ 


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