Document ID: EPA-HQ-ORD-2020-0682-0019
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress External Review Draft
Posted Date: 2023-01-03T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72-74]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27939]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-ORD-2020-0682; FRL-10163-02-ORD]

Notice of Public Comment Period for the Biofuels and the 
Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress External Review Draft

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
the public comment period for the draft document titled, ``Biofuels and 
the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress (External Review 
Draft).'' The document was prepared by EPA's Office of Research and 
Development (ORD) and Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), in 
consultation with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy. EPA 
is releasing this draft document to seek review by a contractor-led 
peer review panel. The peer review, organized by EPA's contractor, ERG, 
will be conducted under the framework of EPA's Scientific Integrity 
Policy (https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2014-02/documents/scientific_integrity_policy_2012.pdf) and follow procedures established 
in EPA's Peer Review Handbook 4th Edition, 2015 (EPA/100/B-15/001). The 
draft document and information about the peer review meeting can be 
found through www.epa.gov/risk/biofuels-and-environment.

DATES: The 60-day public comment period begins January 3, 2023 and ends 
March 6, 2023. Comments must be received on or before March 6, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Please follow the instructions as provided in the section

[[Page 73]]

of this notice entitled SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the period of 
submission, contact the ORD Docket at the EPA Headquarters Docket 
Center; phone: 202-566-1752; fax: 202-566-9744; or email: 
[email protected]. For technical information, contact Christopher 
Clark; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

    In 2007, Congress enacted the Energy Independence and Security Act 
(EISA) with the stated goals of ``mov[ing] the United States toward 
greater energy independence and security [and] to increase the 
production of clean renewable fuels.'' In accordance with these goals, 
EISA revised the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program, which was 
created under the 2005 Energy Policy Act and is administered by EPA, to 
increase the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into 
transportation fuel to 36 billion gallons per year by 2022. Section 204 
of EISA directs EPA, in consultation with the U.S. Departments of 
Agriculture and Energy, to assess and report triennially to Congress on 
the environmental and resource conservation impacts of the RFS Program.
    The first report to Congress (RtC1) was completed in 2011 and 
provided an assessment of the environmental and resource conservation 
impacts associated with increased biofuel production and use (EPA/600/
R-10/183F). The overarching conclusions of this first report were: (1) 
the environmental impacts of increased biofuel production and use were 
likely negative but limited in impact; (2) there was a potential for 
both positive and negative impacts in the future; and (3) EISA goals 
for biofuels production could be achieved with minimal environmental 
impacts if best practices were used and if technologies advanced to 
facilitate the use of second-generation biofuel feedstocks (corn 
stover, perennial grasses, woody biomass, algae, and waste).
    The second report to Congress (RtC2) was completed in 2018 and 
reaffirmed the overarching conclusions of the RtC1 (EPA/600/R-18/195). 
The RtC2 noted that the biofuel production and use conditions that led 
to the conclusions of the RtC1 had not materially changed, and that the 
production of biofuels from cellulosic feedstocks anticipated by both 
the EISA and the RtC1 had not materialized. Noting observed increases 
in acreage for corn and soybean production in the period prior to and 
following implementation of the RFS Program, the RtC2 concluded that 
the environmental and resource conservation impacts associated with 
land use change were likely due, at least in part, to increased biofuel 
production and use associated with the RFS Program. However, the RtC2 
also concluded that further research was needed to assess the linkages 
between environmental impacts and either the biofuels market generally 
or the RFS Program specifically.
    This RtC3 builds on the previous two reports and provides an update 
on the impacts to date of the RFS Program on the environment. This 
report assesses air, water, and soil quality; ecosystem health and 
biodiversity; and other effects. This third report also includes new 
analyses not previously included in the first and second reports.

II. Information About This Peer Review

    On May 9, 2022, EPA announced through an FRN (87 FR 27634) that it 
was seeking public comment on a pool of twenty (20) candidates 
identified through a previous FRN seeking nomination of experts (87 FR 
5479, February 1, 2022). After considering public comment, and the 
balance and collective expertise of the reviewers, ERG identified two 
(2) additional candidates to strengthen expertise gaps in ecology, 
water quality, and economics, and allow a more balanced panel. On 
August 1, 2022, EPA announced through an FRN (87 FR 46958) that it was 
seeking public comment on the two (2) additional peer review 
candidates.
    After review and consideration of public comments on the candidates 
submitted in response to the previous FRNs (87 FR 27634, May 9, 2022, 
and 87 FR 46958, August 1, 2022), EPA's contractor, ERG, selected nine 
(9) peer reviewers from the pool in a manner consistent with EPA's Peer 
Review Handbook 4th Edition, 2015 (EPA/100/B-15/001) and independently 
conducted a conflict of interest (COI) screening of candidates to 
ensure that the selected experts have no COI in conducting this review. 
Candidates' combined expertise span the following disciplines: 
economics, engineering, agronomics, land use change, remote sensing, 
air quality, biogeochemistry, water quality, hydrology, conservation 
biology, limnology, and ecology. The external peer review panel, peer 
review meeting dates, and registration information will be available on 
www.epa.gov/risk/biofuels-and-environment.

III. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at 
www.regulations.gov

    We encourage the public to submit comments to Docket ID No. [EPA-
HQ-ORD-2020-0682] via web at https://www.regulations.gov/ or via email 
at [email protected], as there may be a delay in processing mail and 
faxes. Hand deliveries and couriers may be received at the EPA Docket 
Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
excluding Federal Holidays. For further information on EPA Docket 
Center services and the current status, please visit us online at 
https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. [EPA-HQ-ORD-
2020-0682]. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the 
specified comment period. It is EPA's policy to include all materials 
it receives in the public docket without change and to make the 
materials available online at www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided, unless materials include 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 website 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 directly to EPA without going 
through www.regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically 
captured and included as part of the materials that are placed in the 
public docket and made available on the internet. If you submit 
electronic materials, EPA recommends that you include your name and 
other contact information in the body of your materials and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your materials due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider the materials you submit. 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 EPA's Docket Center homepage at www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some

[[Page 74]]

information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other materials, 
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the ORD Docket in EPA's 
Headquarters Docket Center.

Wayne Cascio,
Director, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Office 
of Research and Development.
[FR Doc. 2022-27939 Filed 12-30-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P