Posted July 7, 2014
On July 2,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued two final rules
concerning the renewable fuel standard (RFS), according to a Biomass article by
Erin Voegele available here.
A recent blog post on RFS is available here.
The first
rule establishes
new fuel pathways and amends the RFS in several ways.
It
qualifies new cellulosic and advanced fuel pathways under the RFS, including
those for “compressed and liquefied natural gas produced from biogas and
landfills, municipal waste-water treatment facility digesters, agricultural
digesters, and separated MSW.”
The pathways
rule also clarifies several regulations that address registration,
recordkeeping, or reporting requirements. It states that producers must include
information on the types of residues that will be used. Producers must also
record and report quantities of specific types of residues used during
production to the EPA. Additionally, the rule states that corn kernel fiber
qualifies as a crop residue.
The second rule finalizes the voluntary quality
assurance plan (QAP) for RFS.
The new
programs provides an “affirmative defense against
liability for civil violations under certain conditions for the transfer or use
of invalidly generated” Renewable Identification Number (RIN).
The rule also establishes a third-party quality assurance
program option for RINs that regulated parties may use as a “supplemental to
the buyer beware liability prescribed” under RFS regulations. Additionally, the
rule establishes independent third-party auditors qualifications, and sets
biofuel production facilities audit requirements.
The
pathways rule will be in effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal
Register, and the QAP will be in effect 60 days after publication in the Federal
Register
For more information on the Renewable Energy, please visit
the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
