Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0546-0165
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Fuels and Fuel Additives: Cellulosic Biofuel Standard
Posted Date: 2014-05-02T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 85 (Friday, May 2, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25074-25077]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10134]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 80

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0546; FRL-9910-24-OAR]
RIN 2060-AS21

Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2013 Cellulosic Biofuel 
Standard

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
revise the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard published on August 15, 
2013. This action follows from EPA having granted two petitioners' 
requests for reconsideration of the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard. 
EPA granted reconsideration because one of the two companies that EPA 
expected to produce cellulosic biofuel in 2013 announced soon after EPA 
signed its final rule that it intended to produce substantially lower 
volumes of cellulosic biofuel in 2013 than it had earlier reported to 
EPA. Since the cellulosic biofuel standard was based on EPA's 
projection of cellulosic biofuel production in 2013, EPA deemed this 
new information to be of central relevance to the rule, warranting 
reconsideration. On reconsideration, EPA is directed to base the 
standard on the lower of ``projected'' production of cellulosic fuel in 
2013 or the cellulosic biofuel applicable volume set forth in the 
statute. Since data are available to show actual production volumes for 
2013, EPA's ``projection'' and proposal are based on actual cellulosic 
biofuel production in 2013. This action only affects the 2013 
cellulosic biofuel standard; all other RFS standards remain unchanged. 
EPA is proposing a revised cellulosic biofuel standard of 0.0005% for 
2013. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal 
Register, we are making this same amendment as a direct final rule. If 
we receive no adverse comment, the direct final rule will go into 
effect and we will not take further action on this proposed rule.

DATES: A request for a public hearing must be received by May 19, 2014. 
If a public hearing request is received, EPA will publish a document in 
the Federal Register indicating the time and place for the hearing. If 
a public hearing is held, written comments must be received within 30 
days after the date of the hearing. If no public hearing is held

[[Page 25075]]

then comments must be received on or before June 2, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2012-00546, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov.
     Mail: Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 
3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. 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-
2012-0546. 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 additional 
instructions on submitting comments, go to Section I.B of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air and Radiation Docket 
and Information Center, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the 
telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia MacAllister, Office of 
Transportation and Air Quality, Assessment and Standards Division, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor MI 
48105; Telephone number: 734-214-4131; Fax number: 734-214-4816; Email 
address: macallister.julia@epa.gov, or the public information line for 
the Office of Transportation and Air Quality; telephone number (734) 
214-4333; Email address OTAQ@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Why is EPA issuing a proposed rule?

    EPA is proposing to amend the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard that 
was finalized in ``Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2013 
Renewable Fuel Standards; Final Rule,'' (August 15, 2013; 78 FR 49794). 
This action follows from EPA having granted, on January 23, 2014, 
requests for reconsideration of the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard 
submitted by the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel & 
Petrochemical Manufacturers. In granting reconsideration, EPA 
determined that petitioners had met the statutory criteria of section 
307(d)(7)(B) of the Clean Air Act, since petitioners had identified new 
information of central relevance that became available after the 
comment period closed but within the time period specified for parties 
to seek judicial review. A direct final rule that would make the same 
changes as those proposed in this document appears in the ``Rules and 
Regulations'' section of this Federal Register. The EPA is taking 
direct final action because we view this action as noncontroversial. We 
have explained our reasons for granting reconsideration in the preamble 
to the direct final rule.
    If we receive no relevant adverse comment or hearing request on the 
direct final rule, we will not take further action on this proposed 
rule. If EPA receives relevant adverse comment or a hearing request, we 
will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register of the direct 
final rule. We will address all public comments in any subsequent final 
rule based on this proposed rule. We will not institute a second 
comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting 
must do so at this time. For further information about commenting on 
this rule see the ADDRESSES section of this document.
    The proposed changes to the regulatory text are identical to those 
presented in the direct final rule published in the ``Rules and 
Regulations'' section of this Federal Register. For further 
information, including a detailed explanation and rationale for the 
proposal and the text of the proposed regulatory revisions, see the 
direct final rule published in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of 
this Federal Register.

II. Does this action apply to me?

    Entities potentially affected by this proposed rule are those 
involved with the production, distribution, and sale of transportation 
fuels, including gasoline and diesel fuel or renewable fuels such as 
ethanol and biodiesel. Potentially regulated categories include:

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                                                NAICS \1\                     Examples of potentially regulated
                  Category                        Codes       SIC \2\ Codes                entities
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Industry...................................          324110            2911  Petroleum Refineries.
Industry...................................          325193            2869  Ethyl alcohol manufacturing.
Industry...................................          325199            2869  Other basic organic chemical
                                                                              manufacturing.
Industry...................................          424690            5169  Chemical and allied products
                                                                              merchant wholesalers.
Industry...................................          424710            5171  Petroleum bulk stations and
                                                                              terminals.
Industry...................................          424720            5172  Petroleum and petroleum products
                                                                              merchant wholesalers.

[[Page 25076]]

 
Industry...................................          454319            5989  Other fuel dealers.
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\1\ North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
\2\ Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system code.

    This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by this 
proposed action. This table lists the types of entities that EPA is now 
aware could potentially be regulated by this proposed action. Other 
types of entities not listed in the table could also be regulated. To 
determine whether your activities would be regulated by this action, 
you should carefully examine the applicability criteria in 40 CFR part 
80. If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this 
proposed action to a particular entity, consult the person listed in 
the preceding section.

III. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

A. Submitting CBI

    Do not submit confidential business information (CBI) to EPA 
through www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of 
the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk 
or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM 
as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

B. Tips for Preparing Your Comments

    When submitting comments, remember to:
     Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other 
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and 
page number).
     Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree, suggest alternatives, 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period 
deadline identified.

C. Docket Copying Costs

    You may be charged a reasonable fee for photocopying docket 
materials, as provided in 40 CFR part 2.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive 
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review

    This proposed action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' 
under the terms of Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) 
and is therefore not subject to review under Executive Orders 12866 and 
13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011).

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    There are no new information collection requirements associated 
with the proposed standards in this rulemaking. The proposed standards 
would impose no new or different reporting requirements on regulated 
parties. The existing information collection requests (ICR) that apply 
to the RFS program are sufficient to address the reporting requirements 
in the proposed regulations.
    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 in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency 
to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to 
notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative 
Procedures Act or any other statute unless the agency certifies that 
the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. Small entities include small businesses, 
small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions.
    For purposes of assessing the impacts of today's proposed rule on 
small entities, small entity is defined as: (1) A small business as 
defined by the Small Business Administration's (SBA) regulations at 13 
CFR 121.201; (2) a small governmental jurisdiction that is a government 
of a city, county, town, school district or special district with a 
population of less than 50,000; and (3) a small organization that is 
any not-for-profit enterprise which is independently owned and operated 
and is not dominant in its field.
    After considering the economic impacts of today's rule on small 
entities, I certify that this proposed rule will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This 
proposed rule reconsiders the annual volume requirement for cellulosic 
biofuel for 2013 which is being reduced from the total of 6 million 
ethanol-equivalent gallons finalized in the 2013 RFS annual rule and 
published on August 15, 2013 to 810,185 ethanol-equivalent gallons. The 
impacts of the RFS2 program on small entities were already addressed in 
the RFS2 final rule promulgated on March 26, 2010 (75 FR 14670), and 
this proposed rule will not impose any additional requirements on small 
entities beyond those already analyzed.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    This proposed action contains no Federal mandates under the 
provisions of Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(UMRA), 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538 for State, local, or tribal governments or 
the private sector. This action implements mandate(s) specifically and 
explicitly set forth by the Congress in Clean Air Act section 211(o) 
without the exercise of any policy discretion by EPA. Therefore, this 
action is not subject to the requirements of sections 202 or 205 of the 
UMRA.
    This action is also not subject to the requirements of section 203 
of UMRA because it contains no regulatory requirements that might 
significantly or uniquely affect small governments. This

[[Page 25077]]

proposed rule only applies to gasoline, diesel, and renewable fuel 
producers, importers, distributors and marketers and merely proposes to 
revise the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard to reflect actual 
production in 2013 for the RFS program.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have 
substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between 
the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government, as 
specified in Executive Order 13132. This action proposes to revise the 
2013 annual cellulosic biofuel standard for the RFS program and only 
applies to gasoline, diesel, and renewable fuel producers, importers, 
distributors and marketers. Thus, Executive Order 13132 does not apply 
to this rule.

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    This action does not have tribal implications, as specified in 
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This proposed 
rule will be implemented at the Federal level and affects 
transportation fuel refiners, blenders, marketers, distributors, 
importers, exporters, and renewable fuel producers and importers. 
Tribal governments would be affected only to the extent they purchase 
and use regulated fuels. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to 
this action.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health Risks and Safety Risks

    EPA interprets EO 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) as applying 
only to those regulatory actions that concern health or safety risks, 
such that the analysis required under section 5-501 of the EO has the 
potential to influence the regulation. This action is not subject to EO 
13045 because it does not establish an environmental standard intended 
to mitigate health or safety risks and because it implements specific 
standards established by Congress in statutes (section 211(o) of the 
Clean Air Act).

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This action is not a ``significant energy action'' as defined in 
Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355 
(May 22, 2001)) because it is not likely to have a significant adverse 
effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy. This action 
simply proposes to revises the 2013 annual cellulosic standard for 
renewable fuel under the RFS program.

I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (``NTTAA''), Public Law 104-113, 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note) 
directs EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in its regulatory 
activities unless to do so would be inconsistent with applicable law or 
otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards are technical 
standards (e.g., materials specifications, test methods, sampling 
procedures, and business practices) that are developed or adopted by 
voluntary consensus standards bodies. NTTAA directs EPA to provide 
Congress, through OMB, explanations when the Agency decides not to use 
available and applicable voluntary consensus standards.
    This proposed rulemaking does not involve technical standards. 
Therefore, EPA is not considering the use of any voluntary consensus 
standards.

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

    Executive Order (EO) 12898 (59 FR 7629 (Feb. 16, 1994)) establishes 
federal executive policy on environmental justice. Its main provision 
directs federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and 
permitted by law, to make environmental justice part of their mission 
by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high 
and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs, 
policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income 
populations in the United States.
    EPA has determined that this proposed rule will not have 
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects on minority or low-income populations because it does not 
affect the level of protection provided to human health or the 
environment. This action does not relax the control measures on sources 
regulated by the RFS regulations and therefore will not cause emissions 
increases from these sources.

V. Statutory Authority

    Statutory authority for this proposed action comes from section 211 
of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7545.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 80

    Administrative practice and procedure, Air pollution control, 
Diesel fuel, Environmental protection, Fuel additives, Gasoline, 
Imports, Oil imports, Petroleum, Renewable fuel.

    Dated: April 22, 2014.
Gina McCarthy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-10134 Filed 5-1-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P