Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2013 Cellulosic Biofuel Standard, 25074-25077 [2014-10134]
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 85 / Friday, May 2, 2014 / Proposed Rules
health or environmental effects, using
practicable and legally permissible
methods, under Executive Order 12898
(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, this rule does not have
tribal implications as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249,
November 9, 2000), because the SIP is
not approved to apply in Indian country
located in the state, and EPA notes that
it will not impose substantial direct
costs on tribal governments or preempt
tribal law.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Particulate matter, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile
organic compounds.
• Email: R10-Public_Comments@
epa.gov.
• Mail: Mr. Keith Rose, U.S. EPA
Region 10, Office of Air, Waste and
Toxics, AWT–107, 1200 Sixth Avenue,
Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: U.S. EPA
Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite
900, Seattle WA 98101. Attention: Keith
Rose, Office of Air, Waste and Toxics,
AWT–107. Such deliveries are only
accepted during normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements
should be made for deliveries of boxed
information.
Please see the direct final rule which is
located in the Rules section of this
Federal Register for detailed
instructions on how to submit
comments.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dated: April 21, 2014.
Judith A. Enck,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
Keith Rose at telephone number: (206)
553–1949, email address: rose.keith@
epa.gov, or the above EPA, Region 10
address.
[FR Doc. 2014–09982 Filed 5–1–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
For
further information, please see the
direct final action, of the same title,
which is located in the Rules section of
this Federal Register. The EPA is
simultaneously approving the State’s
SIP revision as a direct final rule
without prior proposal because the EPA
views this as a noncontroversial SIP
revision and anticipates no adverse
comments. A detailed rationale for the
approval is set forth in the preamble to
the direct final rule. If the EPA receives
no adverse comments, the EPA will not
take further action on this proposed
rule.
If the EPA receives adverse
comments, the EPA will withdraw the
direct final rule and it will not take
effect. The EPA will address all public
comments in a subsequent final rule
based on this proposed rule. The EPA
will not institute a second comment
period on this action. Any parties
interested in commenting on this action
should do so at this time. Please note
that if we receive adverse comment on
an amendment, paragraph, or section of
this rule and if that provision may be
severed from the remainder of the rule,
the EPA may adopt as final those
provisions of the rule that are not the
subject of an adverse comment.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R10–OAR–2008–0122; FRL–9910–03Region 10]
Approval and Promulgation of State
Implementation Plans: Washington;
Puget Sound Ozone Maintenance Plan
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The EPA is proposing to
approve a maintenance plan for the
Central Puget Sound area to maintain
the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standard (NAAQS) through
2015. This plan was submitted by the
Washington Department of Ecology as a
revision to its State Implementation
Plan on January 10, 2008. The
maintenance plan for this area meets all
Clean Air Act requirements, and
demonstrates that the Central Puget
Sound area will remain in attainment
with the 1997 and 2008 ozone NAAQS
through 2015.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before June 2, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R10–
OAR–2008–0122, by any of the
following methods:
• www.regulations.gov: Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
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SUMMARY:
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Dated: April 10, 2014.
Michelle L. Pirzadeh,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2014–09880 Filed 5–1–14; 8:45 am]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 80
[EPA–HQ–OAR–2012–0546; FRL–9910–24–
OAR]
RIN 2060–AS21
Regulation of Fuels and Fuel
Additives: 2013 Cellulosic Biofuel
Standard
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to revise the
2013 cellulosic biofuel standard
published on August 15, 2013. This
action follows from EPA having granted
two petitioners’ requests for
reconsideration of the 2013 cellulosic
biofuel standard. EPA granted
reconsideration because one of the two
companies that EPA expected to
produce cellulosic biofuel in 2013
announced soon after EPA signed its
final rule that it intended to produce
substantially lower volumes of
cellulosic biofuel in 2013 than it had
earlier reported to EPA. Since the
cellulosic biofuel standard was based on
EPA’s projection of cellulosic biofuel
production in 2013, EPA deemed this
new information to be of central
relevance to the rule, warranting
reconsideration. On reconsideration,
EPA is directed to base the standard on
the lower of ‘‘projected’’ production of
cellulosic fuel in 2013 or the cellulosic
biofuel applicable volume set forth in
the statute. Since data are available to
show actual production volumes for
2013, EPA’s ‘‘projection’’ and proposal
are based on actual cellulosic biofuel
production in 2013. This action only
affects the 2013 cellulosic biofuel
standard; all other RFS standards
remain unchanged. EPA is proposing a
revised cellulosic biofuel standard of
0.0005% for 2013. In the ‘‘Rules and
Regulations’’ section of this Federal
Register, we are making this same
amendment as a direct final rule. If we
receive no adverse comment, the direct
final rule will go into effect and we will
not take further action on this proposed
rule.
DATES: A request for a public hearing
must be received by May 19, 2014. If a
public hearing request is received, EPA
will publish a document in the Federal
Register indicating the time and place
for the hearing. If a public hearing is
held, written comments must be
received within 30 days after the date of
the hearing. If no public hearing is held
SUMMARY:
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then comments must be received on or
before June 2, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–
OAR–2012–00546, by one of the
following methods:
• www.regulations.gov: Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
• Email: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov.
• Mail: Air and Radiation Docket and
Information Center, Environmental
Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T,
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.,
Washington, DC 20460.
• Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center,
EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC
20460. Such deliveries are only
accepted during the Docket’s normal
hours of operation, and special
arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2012–
0546. EPA’s policy is that all comments
received will be included in the public
docket without change and may be
made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided, unless
the comment includes information
claimed to be Confidential Business
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected through www.regulations.gov
or email. The www.regulations.gov Web
site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system,
which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless
you provide it in the body of your
comment. If you send an email
comment directly to EPA without going
through www.regulations.gov your email
address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comment
that is placed in the public docket and
made available on the Internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, EPA
recommends that you include your
name and other contact information in
the body of your comment and with any
disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA
cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact
you for clarification, EPA may not be
able to consider your comment.
Electronic files should avoid the use of
special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses. For additional information
about EPA’s public docket visit the EPA
Docket Center homepage at https://
www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
For additional instructions on
submitting comments, go to Section I.B
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this document.
Docket: All documents in the docket
are listed in the www.regulations.gov
index. Although listed in the index,
some information is not publicly
available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, will be publicly
available only in hard copy. Publicly
available docket materials are available
either electronically in
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at
the Air and Radiation Docket and
Information Center, EPA/DC, EPA West,
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave.
NW., Washington, DC. The Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
excluding legal holidays. The telephone
number for the Public Reading Room is
(202) 566–1744, and the telephone
number for the Air Docket is (202) 566–
1742.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia
MacAllister, Office of Transportation
and Air Quality, Assessment and
Standards Division, Environmental
Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood
Drive, Ann Arbor MI 48105; Telephone
number: 734–214–4131; Fax number:
734–214–4816; Email address:
macallister.julia@epa.gov, or the public
information line for the Office of
Transportation and Air Quality;
telephone number (734) 214–4333;
Email address OTAQ@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Why is EPA issuing a proposed rule?
EPA is proposing to amend the 2013
cellulosic biofuel standard that was
finalized in ‘‘Regulation of Fuels and
Fuel Additives: 2013 Renewable Fuel
Standards; Final Rule,’’ (August 15,
2013; 78 FR 49794). This action follows
from EPA having granted, on January
23, 2014, requests for reconsideration of
the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard
NAICS 1
Codes
Category
Industry
Industry
Industry
Industry
Industry
Industry
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SIC 2 Codes
324110
325193
325199
424690
424710
424720
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2911
2869
2869
5169
5171
5172
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submitted by the American Petroleum
Institute and the American Fuel &
Petrochemical Manufacturers. In
granting reconsideration, EPA
determined that petitioners had met the
statutory criteria of section 307(d)(7)(B)
of the Clean Air Act, since petitioners
had identified new information of
central relevance that became available
after the comment period closed but
within the time period specified for
parties to seek judicial review. A direct
final rule that would make the same
changes as those proposed in this
document appears in the ‘‘Rules and
Regulations’’ section of this Federal
Register. The EPA is taking direct final
action because we view this action as
noncontroversial. We have explained
our reasons for granting reconsideration
in the preamble to the direct final rule.
If we receive no relevant adverse
comment or hearing request on the
direct final rule, we will not take further
action on this proposed rule. If EPA
receives relevant adverse comment or a
hearing request, we will publish a
timely withdrawal in the Federal
Register of the direct final rule. We will
address all public comments in any
subsequent final rule based on this
proposed rule. We will not institute a
second comment period on this action.
Any parties interested in commenting
must do so at this time. For further
information about commenting on this
rule see the ADDRESSES section of this
document.
The proposed changes to the
regulatory text are identical to those
presented in the direct final rule
published in the ‘‘Rules and
Regulations’’ section of this Federal
Register. For further information,
including a detailed explanation and
rationale for the proposal and the text of
the proposed regulatory revisions, see
the direct final rule published in the
‘‘Rules and Regulations’’ section of this
Federal Register.
II. Does this action apply to me?
Entities potentially affected by this
proposed rule are those involved with
the production, distribution, and sale of
transportation fuels, including gasoline
and diesel fuel or renewable fuels such
as ethanol and biodiesel. Potentially
regulated categories include:
Examples of potentially
regulated entities
Petroleum Refineries.
Ethyl alcohol manufacturing.
Other basic organic chemical manufacturing.
Chemical and allied products merchant wholesalers.
Petroleum bulk stations and terminals.
Petroleum and petroleum products merchant wholesalers.
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NAICS 1
Codes
Category
Industry .............................................................
1 North
Examples of potentially
regulated entities
SIC 2 Codes
454319
5989
Other fuel dealers.
American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
Industrial Classification (SIC) system code.
2 Standard
This table is not intended to be
exhaustive, but rather provides a guide
for readers regarding entities likely to be
regulated by this proposed action. This
table lists the types of entities that EPA
is now aware could potentially be
regulated by this proposed action. Other
types of entities not listed in the table
could also be regulated. To determine
whether your activities would be
regulated by this action, you should
carefully examine the applicability
criteria in 40 CFR part 80. If you have
any questions regarding the
applicability of this proposed action to
a particular entity, consult the person
listed in the preceding section.
III. What should I consider as I prepare
my comments for EPA?
A. Submitting CBI
Do not submit confidential business
information (CBI) to EPA through
www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly
mark the part or all of the information
that you claim to be CBI. For CBI
information in a disk or CD–ROM that
you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the
disk or CD–ROM as CBI and then
identify electronically within the disk or
CD–ROM the specific information that
is claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that
includes information claimed as CBI, a
copy of the comment that does not
contain the information claimed as CBI
must be submitted for inclusion in the
public docket. Information so marked
will not be disclosed except in
accordance with procedures set forth in
40 CFR part 2.
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B. Tips for Preparing Your Comments
When submitting comments,
remember to:
• Identify the rulemaking by docket
number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal
Register date and page number).
• Follow directions—The agency may
ask you to respond to specific questions
or organize comments by referencing a
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part
or section number.
• Explain why you agree or disagree,
suggest alternatives, and substitute
language for your requested changes.
• Describe any assumptions and
provide any technical information and/
or data that you used.
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• If you estimate potential costs or
burdens, explain how you arrived at
your estimate in sufficient detail to
allow for it to be reproduced.
• Provide specific examples to
illustrate your concerns, and suggest
alternatives.
• Explain your views as clearly as
possible, avoiding the use of profanity
or personal threats.
• Make sure to submit your
comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
C. Docket Copying Costs
You may be charged a reasonable fee
for photocopying docket materials, as
provided in 40 CFR part 2.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory
Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and
Regulatory Review
This proposed action is not a
‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under
the terms of Executive Order 12866 (58
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and is
therefore not subject to review under
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 (76
FR 3821, January 21, 2011).
B. Paperwork Reduction Act
There are no new information
collection requirements associated with
the proposed standards in this
rulemaking. The proposed standards
would impose no new or different
reporting requirements on regulated
parties. The existing information
collection requests (ICR) that apply to
the RFS program are sufficient to
address the reporting requirements in
the proposed regulations.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number. The OMB control
numbers for EPA’s regulations in 40
CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
generally requires an agency to prepare
a regulatory flexibility analysis of any
rule subject to notice and comment
rulemaking requirements under the
Administrative Procedures Act or any
other statute unless the agency certifies
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that the rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. Small entities
include small businesses, small
organizations, and small governmental
jurisdictions.
For purposes of assessing the impacts
of today’s proposed rule on small
entities, small entity is defined as: (1) A
small business as defined by the Small
Business Administration’s (SBA)
regulations at 13 CFR 121.201; (2) a
small governmental jurisdiction that is a
government of a city, county, town,
school district or special district with a
population of less than 50,000; and (3)
a small organization that is any not-forprofit enterprise which is independently
owned and operated and is not
dominant in its field.
After considering the economic
impacts of today’s rule on small entities,
I certify that this proposed rule will not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities.
This proposed rule reconsiders the
annual volume requirement for
cellulosic biofuel for 2013 which is
being reduced from the total of 6 million
ethanol-equivalent gallons finalized in
the 2013 RFS annual rule and published
on August 15, 2013 to 810,185 ethanolequivalent gallons. The impacts of the
RFS2 program on small entities were
already addressed in the RFS2 final rule
promulgated on March 26, 2010 (75 FR
14670), and this proposed rule will not
impose any additional requirements on
small entities beyond those already
analyzed.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
This proposed action contains no
Federal mandates under the provisions
of Title II of the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), 2 U.S.C.
1531–1538 for State, local, or tribal
governments or the private sector. This
action implements mandate(s)
specifically and explicitly set forth by
the Congress in Clean Air Act section
211(o) without the exercise of any
policy discretion by EPA. Therefore,
this action is not subject to the
requirements of sections 202 or 205 of
the UMRA.
This action is also not subject to the
requirements of section 203 of UMRA
because it contains no regulatory
requirements that might significantly or
uniquely affect small governments. This
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proposed rule only applies to gasoline,
diesel, and renewable fuel producers,
importers, distributors and marketers
and merely proposes to revise the 2013
cellulosic biofuel standard to reflect
actual production in 2013 for the RFS
program.
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action does not have federalism
implications. It will not have substantial
direct effects on the States, on the
relationship between the national
government and the States, or on the
distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
levels of government, as specified in
Executive Order 13132. This action
proposes to revise the 2013 annual
cellulosic biofuel standard for the RFS
program and only applies to gasoline,
diesel, and renewable fuel producers,
importers, distributors and marketers.
Thus, Executive Order 13132 does not
apply to this rule.
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation
and Coordination With Indian Tribal
Governments
This action does not have tribal
implications, as specified in Executive
Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9,
2000). This proposed rule will be
implemented at the Federal level and
affects transportation fuel refiners,
blenders, marketers, distributors,
importers, exporters, and renewable fuel
producers and importers. Tribal
governments would be affected only to
the extent they purchase and use
regulated fuels. Thus, Executive Order
13175 does not apply to this action.
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G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of
Children From Environmental Health
Risks and Safety Risks
EPA interprets EO 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997) as applying only
to those regulatory actions that concern
health or safety risks, such that the
analysis required under section 5–501 of
the EO has the potential to influence the
regulation. This action is not subject to
EO 13045 because it does not establish
an environmental standard intended to
mitigate health or safety risks and
because it implements specific
standards established by Congress in
statutes (section 211(o) of the Clean Air
Act).
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions
Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use
This action is not a ‘‘significant
energy action’’ as defined in Executive
Order 13211, ‘‘Actions Concerning
Regulations That Significantly Affect
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Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use’’ (66
FR 28355 (May 22, 2001)) because it is
not likely to have a significant adverse
effect on the supply, distribution, or use
of energy. This action simply proposes
to revises the 2013 annual cellulosic
standard for renewable fuel under the
RFS program.
I. National Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act
Section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (‘‘NTTAA’’), Public Law
104–113, 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note)
directs EPA to use voluntary consensus
standards in its regulatory activities
unless to do so would be inconsistent
with applicable law or otherwise
impractical. Voluntary consensus
standards are technical standards (e.g.,
materials specifications, test methods,
sampling procedures, and business
practices) that are developed or adopted
by voluntary consensus standards
bodies. NTTAA directs EPA to provide
Congress, through OMB, explanations
when the Agency decides not to use
available and applicable voluntary
consensus standards.
This proposed rulemaking does not
involve technical standards. Therefore,
EPA is not considering the use of any
voluntary consensus standards.
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal
Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-Income Populations
Executive Order (EO) 12898 (59 FR
7629 (Feb. 16, 1994)) establishes federal
executive policy on environmental
justice. Its main provision directs
federal agencies, to the greatest extent
practicable and permitted by law, to
make environmental justice part of their
mission by identifying and addressing,
as appropriate, disproportionately high
and adverse human health or
environmental effects of their programs,
policies, and activities on minority
populations and low-income
populations in the United States.
EPA has determined that this
proposed rule will not have
disproportionately high and adverse
human health or environmental effects
on minority or low-income populations
because it does not affect the level of
protection provided to human health or
the environment. This action does not
relax the control measures on sources
regulated by the RFS regulations and
therefore will not cause emissions
increases from these sources.
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V. Statutory Authority
Statutory authority for this proposed
action comes from section 211 of the
Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7545.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 80
Administrative practice and
procedure, Air pollution control, Diesel
fuel, Environmental protection, Fuel
additives, Gasoline, Imports, Oil
imports, Petroleum, Renewable fuel.
Dated: April 22, 2014.
Gina McCarthy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014–10134 Filed 5–1–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 81
[EPA–R09–OAR–2014–0266; FRL–9910–31–
Region–9]
Designation of Areas for Air Quality
Planning Purposes; State of Arizona;
Pinal County and Gila County; Pb
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
Pursuant to section 107(d)(3)
of the Clean Air Act, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
redesignate the Hayden area in Arizona,
which encompasses portions of
southern Gila and eastern Pinal
counties, from ‘‘unclassifiable’’ to
‘‘nonattainment’’ for the 2008 national
ambient air quality standards for lead
(Pb). EPA’s proposal to redesignate the
Hayden area is based on recorded
violations of the Pb standards at the
Arizona Department of Environmental
Quality’s (ADEQ’s) Globe Highway
monitoring site, located near the towns
of Hayden and Winkleman, Arizona,
and additional relevant air quality
information. The effect of this action
would be to redesignate the Hayden area
to nonattainment for the Pb standards
and thereby to impose certain planning
requirements on the State of Arizona to
reduce Pb concentrations within this
area, including, but not limited to, the
requirement to submit, within 18
months of redesignation, a revision to
the Arizona state implementation plan
that provides for attainment of the Pb
standards as expeditiously as
practicable, but no later than five years
after the date of redesignation to
nonattainment.
SUMMARY:
Any comments must arrive by
June 2, 2014.
DATES:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 85 (Friday, May 2, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25074-25077]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10134]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 80
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0546; FRL-9910-24-OAR]
RIN 2060-AS21
Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2013 Cellulosic Biofuel
Standard
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to
revise the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard published on August 15,
2013. This action follows from EPA having granted two petitioners'
requests for reconsideration of the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard.
EPA granted reconsideration because one of the two companies that EPA
expected to produce cellulosic biofuel in 2013 announced soon after EPA
signed its final rule that it intended to produce substantially lower
volumes of cellulosic biofuel in 2013 than it had earlier reported to
EPA. Since the cellulosic biofuel standard was based on EPA's
projection of cellulosic biofuel production in 2013, EPA deemed this
new information to be of central relevance to the rule, warranting
reconsideration. On reconsideration, EPA is directed to base the
standard on the lower of ``projected'' production of cellulosic fuel in
2013 or the cellulosic biofuel applicable volume set forth in the
statute. Since data are available to show actual production volumes for
2013, EPA's ``projection'' and proposal are based on actual cellulosic
biofuel production in 2013. This action only affects the 2013
cellulosic biofuel standard; all other RFS standards remain unchanged.
EPA is proposing a revised cellulosic biofuel standard of 0.0005% for
2013. In the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of this Federal
Register, we are making this same amendment as a direct final rule. If
we receive no adverse comment, the direct final rule will go into
effect and we will not take further action on this proposed rule.
DATES: A request for a public hearing must be received by May 19, 2014.
If a public hearing request is received, EPA will publish a document in
the Federal Register indicating the time and place for the hearing. If
a public hearing is held, written comments must be received within 30
days after the date of the hearing. If no public hearing is held
[[Page 25075]]
then comments must be received on or before June 2, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2012-00546, by one of the following methods:
www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
Email: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov.
Mail: Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center,
Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room
3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460. Such deliveries
are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and
special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed
information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2012-0546. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or email. The
www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment
directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your email
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional
information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center
homepage at https://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. For additional
instructions on submitting comments, go to Section I.B of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air and Radiation Docket
and Information Center, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution
Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The
telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the
telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 566-1742.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia MacAllister, Office of
Transportation and Air Quality, Assessment and Standards Division,
Environmental Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor MI
48105; Telephone number: 734-214-4131; Fax number: 734-214-4816; Email
address: macallister.julia@epa.gov, or the public information line for
the Office of Transportation and Air Quality; telephone number (734)
214-4333; Email address OTAQ@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Why is EPA issuing a proposed rule?
EPA is proposing to amend the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard that
was finalized in ``Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2013
Renewable Fuel Standards; Final Rule,'' (August 15, 2013; 78 FR 49794).
This action follows from EPA having granted, on January 23, 2014,
requests for reconsideration of the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard
submitted by the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel &
Petrochemical Manufacturers. In granting reconsideration, EPA
determined that petitioners had met the statutory criteria of section
307(d)(7)(B) of the Clean Air Act, since petitioners had identified new
information of central relevance that became available after the
comment period closed but within the time period specified for parties
to seek judicial review. A direct final rule that would make the same
changes as those proposed in this document appears in the ``Rules and
Regulations'' section of this Federal Register. The EPA is taking
direct final action because we view this action as noncontroversial. We
have explained our reasons for granting reconsideration in the preamble
to the direct final rule.
If we receive no relevant adverse comment or hearing request on the
direct final rule, we will not take further action on this proposed
rule. If EPA receives relevant adverse comment or a hearing request, we
will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register of the direct
final rule. We will address all public comments in any subsequent final
rule based on this proposed rule. We will not institute a second
comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting
must do so at this time. For further information about commenting on
this rule see the ADDRESSES section of this document.
The proposed changes to the regulatory text are identical to those
presented in the direct final rule published in the ``Rules and
Regulations'' section of this Federal Register. For further
information, including a detailed explanation and rationale for the
proposal and the text of the proposed regulatory revisions, see the
direct final rule published in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of
this Federal Register.
II. Does this action apply to me?
Entities potentially affected by this proposed rule are those
involved with the production, distribution, and sale of transportation
fuels, including gasoline and diesel fuel or renewable fuels such as
ethanol and biodiesel. Potentially regulated categories include:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAICS \1\ Examples of potentially regulated
Category Codes SIC \2\ Codes entities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industry................................... 324110 2911 Petroleum Refineries.
Industry................................... 325193 2869 Ethyl alcohol manufacturing.
Industry................................... 325199 2869 Other basic organic chemical
manufacturing.
Industry................................... 424690 5169 Chemical and allied products
merchant wholesalers.
Industry................................... 424710 5171 Petroleum bulk stations and
terminals.
Industry................................... 424720 5172 Petroleum and petroleum products
merchant wholesalers.
[[Page 25076]]
Industry................................... 454319 5989 Other fuel dealers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
\2\ Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system code.
This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by this
proposed action. This table lists the types of entities that EPA is now
aware could potentially be regulated by this proposed action. Other
types of entities not listed in the table could also be regulated. To
determine whether your activities would be regulated by this action,
you should carefully examine the applicability criteria in 40 CFR part
80. If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this
proposed action to a particular entity, consult the person listed in
the preceding section.
III. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
A. Submitting CBI
Do not submit confidential business information (CBI) to EPA
through www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of
the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk
or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM
as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket.
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
B. Tips for Preparing Your Comments
When submitting comments, remember to:
Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and
page number).
Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
Explain why you agree or disagree, suggest alternatives,
and substitute language for your requested changes.
Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used.
If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the
use of profanity or personal threats.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
C. Docket Copying Costs
You may be charged a reasonable fee for photocopying docket
materials, as provided in 40 CFR part 2.
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
This proposed action is not a ``significant regulatory action''
under the terms of Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993)
and is therefore not subject to review under Executive Orders 12866 and
13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011).
B. Paperwork Reduction Act
There are no new information collection requirements associated
with the proposed standards in this rulemaking. The proposed standards
would impose no new or different reporting requirements on regulated
parties. The existing information collection requests (ICR) that apply
to the RFS program are sufficient to address the reporting requirements
in the proposed regulations.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's
regulations in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) generally requires an agency
to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to
notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative
Procedures Act or any other statute unless the agency certifies that
the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. Small entities include small businesses,
small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions.
For purposes of assessing the impacts of today's proposed rule on
small entities, small entity is defined as: (1) A small business as
defined by the Small Business Administration's (SBA) regulations at 13
CFR 121.201; (2) a small governmental jurisdiction that is a government
of a city, county, town, school district or special district with a
population of less than 50,000; and (3) a small organization that is
any not-for-profit enterprise which is independently owned and operated
and is not dominant in its field.
After considering the economic impacts of today's rule on small
entities, I certify that this proposed rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This
proposed rule reconsiders the annual volume requirement for cellulosic
biofuel for 2013 which is being reduced from the total of 6 million
ethanol-equivalent gallons finalized in the 2013 RFS annual rule and
published on August 15, 2013 to 810,185 ethanol-equivalent gallons. The
impacts of the RFS2 program on small entities were already addressed in
the RFS2 final rule promulgated on March 26, 2010 (75 FR 14670), and
this proposed rule will not impose any additional requirements on small
entities beyond those already analyzed.
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
This proposed action contains no Federal mandates under the
provisions of Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(UMRA), 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538 for State, local, or tribal governments or
the private sector. This action implements mandate(s) specifically and
explicitly set forth by the Congress in Clean Air Act section 211(o)
without the exercise of any policy discretion by EPA. Therefore, this
action is not subject to the requirements of sections 202 or 205 of the
UMRA.
This action is also not subject to the requirements of section 203
of UMRA because it contains no regulatory requirements that might
significantly or uniquely affect small governments. This
[[Page 25077]]
proposed rule only applies to gasoline, diesel, and renewable fuel
producers, importers, distributors and marketers and merely proposes to
revise the 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard to reflect actual
production in 2013 for the RFS program.
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have
substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between
the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of government, as
specified in Executive Order 13132. This action proposes to revise the
2013 annual cellulosic biofuel standard for the RFS program and only
applies to gasoline, diesel, and renewable fuel producers, importers,
distributors and marketers. Thus, Executive Order 13132 does not apply
to this rule.
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian
Tribal Governments
This action does not have tribal implications, as specified in
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This proposed
rule will be implemented at the Federal level and affects
transportation fuel refiners, blenders, marketers, distributors,
importers, exporters, and renewable fuel producers and importers.
Tribal governments would be affected only to the extent they purchase
and use regulated fuels. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to
this action.
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental
Health Risks and Safety Risks
EPA interprets EO 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) as applying
only to those regulatory actions that concern health or safety risks,
such that the analysis required under section 5-501 of the EO has the
potential to influence the regulation. This action is not subject to EO
13045 because it does not establish an environmental standard intended
to mitigate health or safety risks and because it implements specific
standards established by Congress in statutes (section 211(o) of the
Clean Air Act).
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use
This action is not a ``significant energy action'' as defined in
Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355
(May 22, 2001)) because it is not likely to have a significant adverse
effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy. This action
simply proposes to revises the 2013 annual cellulosic standard for
renewable fuel under the RFS program.
I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (``NTTAA''), Public Law 104-113, 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note)
directs EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in its regulatory
activities unless to do so would be inconsistent with applicable law or
otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards are technical
standards (e.g., materials specifications, test methods, sampling
procedures, and business practices) that are developed or adopted by
voluntary consensus standards bodies. NTTAA directs EPA to provide
Congress, through OMB, explanations when the Agency decides not to use
available and applicable voluntary consensus standards.
This proposed rulemaking does not involve technical standards.
Therefore, EPA is not considering the use of any voluntary consensus
standards.
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
Executive Order (EO) 12898 (59 FR 7629 (Feb. 16, 1994)) establishes
federal executive policy on environmental justice. Its main provision
directs federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and
permitted by law, to make environmental justice part of their mission
by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high
and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs,
policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income
populations in the United States.
EPA has determined that this proposed rule will not have
disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental
effects on minority or low-income populations because it does not
affect the level of protection provided to human health or the
environment. This action does not relax the control measures on sources
regulated by the RFS regulations and therefore will not cause emissions
increases from these sources.
V. Statutory Authority
Statutory authority for this proposed action comes from section 211
of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7545.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 80
Administrative practice and procedure, Air pollution control,
Diesel fuel, Environmental protection, Fuel additives, Gasoline,
Imports, Oil imports, Petroleum, Renewable fuel.
Dated: April 22, 2014.
Gina McCarthy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-10134 Filed 5-1-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
