Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0542-0276
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Notice of Data Availability Concerning Renewable Fuels Produced from Palm Oil Under the RFS Program; Extension of Comment Period
Posted Date: 2012-04-02T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 63 (Monday, April 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19663-19664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7895]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0542; FRL-9654-9]

Notice of Data Availability Concerning Renewable Fuels Produced 
from Palm Oil Under the RFS Program; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
an extension in the public comment period for the ``Notice of Data 
Availability Concerning Renewable Fuels Produced from Palm Oil under 
the RFS Program'' (the notice is herein referred to as the ``palm oil 
NODA''). EPA published a NODA, which included a request for comment, in 
the Federal Register on January 27, 2012 (77 FR 4300). The public 
comment period was to end on February 27, 2012--30 days after 
publication in the Federal Register. On February 14, 2012, EPA 
published a notice extending the comment period by 30 days until March 
28, 2012. The purpose of this document is to extend the comment period 
an additional 30 days until April 27, 2012. This extension of the 
comment period is provided to allow the public additional time to 
provide comment on the NODA.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 27, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2011-0542, 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: Air and Radiation Docket and Information 
Center, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20004. 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-
2011-0542. 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 a-and-r-docket@epa.gov. 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.
    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 20004. 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: Aaron Levy, Office of Transportation 
and Air Quality, Transportation and Climate Division, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460 
(MC: 6041A); telephone number: 202-564-2993; fax number: 202-564-1177; 
email address: levy.aaron@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In a separate notice of data availability, EPA provided an 
opportunity to comment on EPA's analyses of palm oil used as a 
feedstock to produce biodiesel and renewable diesel under the Renewable 
Fuel Standard (RFS) program. EPA's analysis of palm oil-based biofuels 
is a supplement to the final rule published on March 26, 2010, which 
made changes to the RFS program (75 FR 14670). EPA's analysis of the 
two types of biofuel shows that biodiesel and renewable diesel produced 
from palm oil have estimated lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission 
reductions of 17% and 11% respectively for these biofuels compared to 
the statutory baseline petroleum-based diesel fuel used in the

[[Page 19664]]

RFS program. This analysis indicates that both palm oil-based biofuels 
would not qualify as meeting the minimum 20% GHG performance threshold 
for renewable fuel under the RFS program. On February 14, 2012, EPA 
published a notice extending the comment period by 30 days until March 
28, 2012 to provide the public additional time to comment on the NODA.

Extension of Comment Period

    EPA received requests for an additional extension of the palm oil 
NODA comment period from various parties. After considering all of 
these comments, EPA has determined that an extension of the comment 
period would provide the public adequate time to provide meaningful 
comment on the NODA. However, this need must be balanced against our 
desire to finalize our analysis in a timely manner. EPA believes that 
an additional 30 days is an appropriate amount of time to balance these 
needs. Accordingly, the public comment period for the palm oil NODA is 
extended until April 27, 2012. EPA does not anticipate any further 
extension of the comment period at this time.

    Dated: March 27, 2012.
Margo Tsirigotis Oge,
Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality.
[FR Doc. 2012-7895 Filed 3-30-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P