On Oct. 19, the U.S. EPA delivered its proposed rule to set renewable fuel standard (RFS) volumes for 2017 and biomass-based diesel volumes for 2018 to the White House Office of Management and Budget. OBM review marks a last step before a final rule is issued.

The proposed rule was first issued by EPA on May 18. It aims to set RFS renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for 2017, along with the 2018 RVO for biomass-based diesel. In the proposed rule, the agency suggested setting the 2017 RVO for advanced biofuel at 4 billion ethanol-equivalent gallons, or 2.67 biodiesel-equivalent gallons, cellulosic biofuel at 312 million gallons, and total renewable fuel at 18.8 billion gallons. The 2018 RVO for biomass-based diesel has been proposed at 2.1 billion gallons. 

The proposed percentage standards call for renewable fuel to comprise 10.44 percent of the transportation fuel pool next year, with the biomass-based diesel standard at 1.67 percent, the advanced biofuel standard at 2.22 percent and the cellulosic standard at 0.173 percent.

A public comment period on the proposal closed in mid-July. During the comment period, more than 42,500 public comments were filed on the proposal.

The EPA’s Regulatory Development and Retrospective Review Tracker currently states a final rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register in December.