The U.S. EPA on Dec. 5 issued a proposed rule to partially waive the compliance year 2024 renewable volume obligation (RVO) for cellulosic biofuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The rulemaking also proposes to extend the RFS compliance reporting deadline for 2024 and revises certain biogas provisions included in RFS regulations.  

The American Fuel & Petrochemicals Manufacturers on Nov. 1 petitioned the EPA seeking a partial waiver of 2024 cellulosic RVOs. The agency on Nov. 12 delivered a proposed rulemaking regarding the partial waiver to the White House Office of Management and Budget. That proposed rule has now been released for public comment. 

Within the proposed rule, the EPA explains that in finalizing the 2024 cellulosic RVO in July 2023, the agency projected that 1.09 billion cellulosic renewable identification numbers (RINs) would be generated in 2024. Currently projections, however, show that only 970 million cellulosic RINs will be generated this year, creating a shortfall of 120,000 cellulosic RINs. 

Due to that projected shortfall and other factors outlined in the rulemaking, the EPA is proposing to reduce the cellulosic RVO to 880 million RINs for 2024, which is the sum of the projected cellulosic biofuel production in 2024 less the cellulosic biofuel deficits carried into 2024. 

The EPA also noted that its analysis shows that the supply of advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel RINs 2024 will exceed the required volumes by a significant margin, despite the projected shortfall in cellulosic biofuel. Given the projected surplus of 2024 advanced RINs, the agency is not prosing to revise the RVOs for biobased diesel, advanced biofuel, or total renewable fuel. The EPA also said it is not currently proposing any changes to the 2025 RVOs, which were also finalized in July 2023. “While EPA may possibly consider a partial waiver of the 2025 cellulosic biofuel standard in a future action, any comments on such a change to the 2025 RFS standards will be treated as beyond the scope of this action,” the agency said in the proposed rule.

The EPA is also proposing to extend the 2024 RFS compliance deadline from March 31, 2025, to the next quarter compliance reporting deadline after the effective date of the action finalizing the proposed amendments. In addition, the agency is proposing provisions that would automatically extend the annual compliance reporting deadline for a given compliance year if the EPA proposes to revise and existing RFS standard for that year. 

Other provisions included in the proposed rule seek public comments on two issues related to the agency’s “cellulosic waiver authority.” Specifically, the EPA is seeking input on whether that authority is available to waive the 2024 cellulosic biofuel requirement and on a proposal to replace the source data for the wholesale price of gasoline that is used to calculate the price of cellulosic waiver credits (CWCs) because the data source currently identified in the regulations is no longer available. 

The proposed rule also includes minor revisions of the RFS program’s biogas regulations. The first proposes to clarify and provide flexibility for how biogas, renewable natural gas (RNG), renewable compressed natural gas (CNG) and renewable liquefied natural gas (LNG) are measured, sampled and tested to demonstrate compliance. The second includes technical amendments to clarify what constitutes a batch of RNG; clarify the requirements for the generation, assignment and separation of RINs for RNG; clarify the registration requirements for biogas producers, RNG producers and RNG RIN separators; clarify the attest engagement requirements for biogas producers, RNG producers and RNG RIN separators; and numerous clarifications, corrections and consistency edits to the biogas regulations. 

A virtual public hearing is scheduled to be held Dec. 20. A public comment period is open through Jan. 21, 2025. Additional information is available on the EPA website.