Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0632-0649
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Request for Comment on Letters Seeking a Waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard; Extension of Comment Period
Posted Date: 2012-09-18T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57565-57566]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22969]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0632; FRL--9729-1]

Request for Comment on Letters Seeking a Waiver of the Renewable 
Fuel Standard; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[[Page 57566]]

ACTION: Notice; extension of comment period regarding letters seeking a 
waiver of the renewable fuel standard.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
an extension of the public comment period associated with the Notice 
entitled ``Request for Comment on Letters Seeking a Waiver of the 
Renewable Fuel Standard'' that was published in the Federal Register on 
August 30, 2012. EPA has received several requests for an extension of 
the comment period and, in response, has decided to allow an additional 
fifteen days, to October 11, 2012, for the submission of public 
comment.

Dates: Comments. Written comments must be received on or before October 
11, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2012-0632, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov.
     Fax: (202) 566-1741.
     Mail: Air and Radiation Docket, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2012-0632, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460. Please include a total 
of two copies.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, Public Reading Room, EPA 
West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20460. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal 
hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2012-0632. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The 
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which 
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you 
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment 
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the 
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you 
include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center 
homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dallas Burkholder, Office of 
Transportation and Air Quality, Environmental Protection Agency, 
National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory, 2565 Plymouth Road, Ann 
Arbor, MI 48105; telephone number: (734) 214-4766; fax number: (734) 
214-4050; email address: burkholder.dallas@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: In a Federal Register Notice dated August 30, 2012 (77 
FR 52715), EPA provided notice of its receipt of requests for a waiver 
of required volumes of renewable fuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard 
(``RFS'') program, and invited public comment on those requests. As 
more fully described in the August 30, 2012 Notice, Governors of 
several States have submitted separate requests for an RFS waiver. 
Section 211(o)(7)(A) of the Clean Air Act allows the Administrator of 
the EPA to waive the national volume requirements of the renewable fuel 
standard program in whole or in part if implementation of those 
requirements would severely harm the economy or environment of a State, 
a region, or the United States, or if the Administrator determines that 
there is inadequate domestic supply of renewable fuel.
    Extension of Comment Period: EPA received requests for an extension 
of the comment period from various parties. After considering these 
comments, EPA has determined that an extension of the comment period 
would appropriately provide the public additional time to provide 
meaningful comment on the Renewable Fuel Standard waiver requests. Any 
such extension, however, must be balanced against the need to make a 
timely decision with respect to the waiver requests. EPA believes that 
an additional 15 days is an appropriate amount of time to balance these 
needs. Accordingly, the public comment period on the RFS waiver 
requests is extended to October 11, 2012. EPA does not currently 
anticipate that it will provide any further extension of the comment 
period.

    Dated: September 10, 2012.
Gina McCarthy,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2012-22969 Filed 9-17-12; 8:45 am]
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