California agency proposes to update refinery regs for renewables

In California, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has proposed amendments to its existing refinery rules to ensure that facilities that produce fuels and other products from non-petroleum feedstocks remain subject to, and in compliance with, the same emission standards and rule requirements that were in effect when the feedstock was petroleum based.

A staff report released by the agency explains that since 2020, two of the five petroleum refineries in the Bay Area have submitted permit applications to modify the facility operation to process alternative feedstocks with the intent of producing renewable products.

“Petroleum refineries are subject to a variety of Air District rules and regulations,” said the agency in the staff report. “Some of these rules are exclusively applicable to petroleum refineries and some of these rules are applicable to petroleum refineries as well as other facilities. Most of these rules determine that applicability by using the definition of petroleum refinery. There are also instances where a particular standard, requirement, or exemption is dependent on terms such as ‘fossil-derived,’ ‘fossil-fuel,’ petroleum,’ and ‘crude oil.’

“The purpose of the proposed amendments is to ensure that the facilities that produce fuels and other products from non-petroleum feedstocks remain subject to and in compliance with the same emission standards and rule requirements that were in effect when the feedstock was petroleum based.”

Without the proposed changes, the agency said the facilities that change to non-petroleum feedstocks may no longer be subject to the emission standards and other regulatory requirements that currently apply to them. Adoption of the proposed amendments aims to maintain the status quo and ensure that the petroleum facilities that convert to non-petroleum operations will continue to be required to comply with the same emission standards and regulatory requirements that are currently applicable to their operations.

Written comments on the proposed amendments can be submitted through Oct. 11. A public hearing is currently scheduled for Nov. 3. Additional information is available on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District website.