The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a package of actions setting biofuels volumes for years 2022, 2021 and 2020, and introducing regulatory changes intended to enhance the program’s objectives.
The actions are intended to strengthen the role of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to advance the use of low-carbon renewable fuels, an EPA press release said. These actions also “reflect the Biden Administration’s commitment to reset and strengthen the RFS program following years of mismanagement by the previous administration and disruptions to the fuels market stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Despite multiple challenging dynamics affecting the RFS program in recent years, EPA remains committed to the growth of biofuels in America as a critical strategy to secure a clean, zero-carbon energy future,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in the release. “This package of actions will enable us to get the RFS program back in growth mode by setting ambitious levels for 2022, and by reinforcing the foundation of the program so that it’s rooted in science and the law.”
The EPA is also seeking public input on a proposed decision to deny petitions to exempt small refineries from their obligations under the RFS because some failed to show that EPA has authority under the Clean Air Act and recent federal case law to approve them, the release said.
The EPA is proposing the highest total volumes in history in 2022, putting the program on a stable trajectory toward significant growth, the proposed volume standards released by the EPA said. The proposed volumes for 2022 are more than 3.5 billion gallons higher than the volume of renewable fuel used in 2020. Additionally, the proposed volume of advanced biofuel for 2022 is more than 1 billion gallons greater than the volume used in 2020.
EPA is also proposing to add a 250-million-gallon “supplemental obligation” to the volumes proposed for 2022 and looks to add another 250 million gallons in 2023, the EPA said. These actions would address the remand of the 2014-2016 annual rule by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in Americans for Clean Energy v. EPA.
The new actions also include a proposed regulatory framework so biointermediates can be included in the RFS program.
