40 CFR Part 79 - REGISTRATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES

This Notice provides an opportunity to comment on new information that pertains to the proposed provisions for ethanol flex fuel contained in the Renewables Enhancement and Growth Support (REGS) rule which was published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2016. The new information is contained in the report titled “Property Analysis of Ethanol—Natural Gasoline—BOB Blends to Make Flex Fuel” that has been placed in the public docket for this action. In the proposed REGS rule, the EPA proposed volatility standards for ethanol flex fuel (EFF) to prevent excessive evaporative emissions that could adversely affect the emissions control systems of flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) and human health. The EPA proposed a fuel volatility compliance tool for use by regulated entities to demonstrate compliance with the proposed volatility standards for EFF. The new information being made available by this notice indicates that the proposed compliance tool may need to be modified to adequately estimate the volatility of EFF when natural gasoline is used as a blendstock.

In this action, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to update both its renewable fuels and other fuels regulations to reflect changes in the marketplace and to promote the growing use of both ethanol fuels (conventional and advanced) and non-ethanol advanced and cellulosic biofuels. The EPA is proposing to make several changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program regulations that would align them with recent developments in the marketplace to increase production of cellulosic and other advanced biofuels. There are several companies that have developed renewable fuel production technologies that produce a “biointermediate” at one facility that is then processed into renewable fuel at another facility, and we are proposing regulatory changes to allow fuels produced through such methods to qualify under existing approved renewable fuel production pathways. This action also proposes to update our fuel regulations by defining fuel blends containing 16 to 83 volume percent ethanol as ethanol flex fuel (EFF) and to no longer treat fuel blends containing 16 to 50 volume percent ethanol as gasoline. The EPA is proposing environmentally protective fuel quality specifications for EFF that are consistent with those already in place for gasoline. In this action we are also proposing new pathways for cellulosic biofuel produced from short-rotation trees and for renewable diesel and biodiesel produced from non-cellulosic portions of separated food waste. We are also proposing to add new registration, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements for facilities using carbon capture and storage if we were to approve the use of this technology in future assessments of proposed pathways for producing qualifying renewable fuel. We are also seeking comment on how best to implement and/or revise the RFS regulations pertaining to the generation of RINs for renewable electricity used as transportation fuel. Finally, we are proposing a number of other regulatory changes, clarifications, and technical corrections to the RFS program and other fuels regulations.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a public hearing to be held in Chicago, Illinois on December 6, 2016, on its proposal for the “Renewables Enhancement and Growth Support (REGS) Rule.” The public can view the proposal at https://www.epa.gov/renewable-fuel-standard-program/proposed-renewables-enhancement-and-growth-support-regs-rule. Comments submitted at the public hearing will contribute to the REGS Rule proposal that the EPA will publish at a later date in the Federal Register .

This action establishes more stringent vehicle emissions standards and will reduce the sulfur content of gasoline beginning in 2017, as part of a systems approach to addressing the impacts of motor vehicles and fuels on air quality and public health. The gasoline sulfur standard will make emission control systems more effective for both existing and new vehicles, and will enable more stringent vehicle emissions standards. The vehicle standards will reduce both tailpipe and evaporative emissions from passenger cars, light-duty trucks, medium-duty passenger vehicles, and some heavy-duty vehicles. This will result in significant reductions in pollutants such as ozone, particulate matter, and air toxics across the country and help state and local agencies in their efforts to attain and maintain health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Motor vehicles are an important source of exposure to air pollution both regionally and near roads. These vehicle standards are intended to harmonize with California's Low Emission Vehicle program, thus creating a federal vehicle emissions program that will allow automakers to sell the same vehicles in all 50 states. The vehicle standards will be implemented over the same timeframe as the greenhouse gas/fuel efficiency standards for light-duty vehicles (promulgated by EPA and the National Highway Safety Administration in 2012), as part of a comprehensive approach toward regulating emissions from motor vehicles.