California Code of Regulations
Title 17 - Public Health
Division 3 - Air Resources
Chapter 1 - Air Resources Board
Subchapter 10 - Climate Change
Article 4 - Regulations to Achieve Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions
Subarticle 7 - Low Carbon Fuel Standard
Section 95488.7 - Tier 2 Fuel Pathway Application Requirements and Certification Process

Universal Citation: 17 CA Code of Regs 95488.7

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024

(a) Documentation Required for Tier 2 Pathways. A fuel pathway applicant may apply for a Tier 2 pathway using the provisions set forth in this section. After satisfying all requirements for pathway and facility registration in 95488.2, the applicant must submit the following information to the Executive Officer for consideration of a Tier 2 pathway CI:

(1) CA-GREET Model. A copy of the CA-GREET3.0 spreadsheet prepared for the life cycle analysis of the proposed fuel pathway. Tier 2 pathway carbon intensities must be calculated using the CA-GREET3.0 model, with the most current 24 months of operational data, unless the Executive Officer has approved the use of a method or model that the Executive Officer has determined is at least equivalent to the calculation methodology used by CA-GREET3.0. The CA-GREET3.0 model shall include appropriate LUC or other indirect carbon intensity modifier from Table 6 when applicable.

(2) Life Cycle Analysis Report. A life cycle analysis report that describes the full fuel life cycle, and describes in detail the calculation of the fuel pathway CI. The report shall contain sufficient detail to allow the Board's staff to replicate the CI calculated by the applicant. All inputs to, and outputs from, the fuel production process that contribute to the life cycle CI must be described in the life cycle analysis report. These inputs and outputs must then be fully accounted for in the calculation of the fuel pathway CI. The life cycle analysis report shall include the following information:

(A) A detailed description of the full fuel production process. The description shall include:

1. A description of the full well-to-wheels fuel life cycle, including the locations where each primary step in the fuel life cycle occurs. This description shall identify where the system boundary was established for the purposes of performing the life cycle analysis on the proposed pathway. The discussion of the system boundary shall be accompanied by a schematic depicting the system boundary. That schematic shall show all feedstock and fuel production units that are included in the system boundary, as well as all material and energy flows across the system boundary. Any feedstock or fuel production units that have been excluded from the system must be shown on the schematic, and must be explicitly discussed in the narrative description of the full fuel life cycle.

2. A description of all fuel production feedstocks used, including all pre-processing to which feedstocks are subject. For fuels utilizing agricultural crops for feedstocks, the description shall include the agricultural practices used to produce those crops. This discussion shall cover energy and chemical use, typical crop yields, feedstock harvesting, transport modes and distances, storage, and pre-processing (such as drying or oil extraction).

3. A description of all material inputs to the production process not covered in 2, above. These include, but are not limited to enzymes, nutrients, chemicals, catalysts, and microorganisms.

4. A description of the transportation modes used throughout the fuel life cycle. This discussion must identify origins and destinations, cargo carrying capacities, fuel shares, and the distances traveled for each transport mode.

5. A description of all facilities and process units involved in the production of fuel under the proposed pathway.

6. A list of all combustion-powered equipment, along with their respective capacities, sizes, or rated power, and type and amount of fuel combusted, throughout all phases of the fuel life cycle over which the fuel pathway applicant exercises control.

7. A quantitative discussion of the thermal and electrical energy consumption that occurs throughout all phases of the fuel life cycle over which the applicant exercises control. All fuels used (natural gas, biogas, coal, biomass, etc.) must be identified and use rates quantified. The regional electrical energy generation fuel mix used in the CA-GREET3.0 analysis must be identified. Internally generated power such as cogeneration and combined heat and power must also be described. All fuel pathway applicants using grid electricity must choose electrical generation energy mixes from among the subregions in CA-GREET3.0, if applicable. The options include the 26 subregions defined in eGRID2014v2, and a national grid mix for Brazil and Canada. Applicants whose fuel production facilities or feedstock source regions are located in an area for which there is no corresponding subregion included in CA-GREET3.0 must enter user-defined energy resources and submit the source of the data utilized to the Executive Officer for approval.

8. A description of all co-products, byproducts, and waste products associated with production of the fuel. That description shall extend to all processing, such as drying of distiller's grains, applied to these materials after they leave the fuel production process, including processing that occurs after ownership of the materials passes to other parties. Moreover, if a co-product credit is claimed for a co- or by-product, that credit must reflect all post-fuel-production processing steps covered by this section. If a co-product (e.g., electricity) is exported across the fence line, details of the quantity of energy transferred on a daily basis must be monitored using data systems with electronic archival.

(B) A detailed description of the calculation of the pathway CI. This description must provide clear, detailed, and quantitative information on process inputs and outputs, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions generation, and the final pathway carbon intensity, as calculated using CA-GREET3.0. Important intermediate values in each of the primary life cycle stages shall be shown. Those stages include but are not limited to feedstock production and transport; fuel production, fuel transport, and dispensing; co-product production, transport and use; waste generation, treatment and disposal; and fuel use in a vehicle. This description shall include, at a minimum:

1. A table showing all CA-GREET3.0 input values entered by the applicant. The worksheet, row, and column locations of the cells into which these inputs were entered shall be identified. In combination with the modifications identified in subsection (B)2. below, this table shall enable the Executive Officer to enter the reported inputs into a copy of CA-GREET3.0 and to replicate the carbon intensity results reported in the application.

2. A detailed discussion of all modifications other than those covered by subsection (B)1. above, made to the CA-GREET3.0 spreadsheet. This discussion shall allow the Executive Officer to duplicate all such modifications and, in combination with the inputs identified in subsection (B)1. above, replicate the carbon intensity results reported in the application.

3. Documentation of all CA-GREET3.0 values used in the carbon intensity calculation process.

4. A detailed description of all supporting calculations that were performed outside of the CA-GREET3.0 spreadsheet.

(C) Descriptions of all co-located facilities, which in any way utilize outputs from, or provide inputs to, the fuel production facility. Such co-located facilities include but are not limited to cogeneration facilities, facilities that otherwise provide heat or electrical energy to the fuel production process, facilities that process or utilize co-products such as distillers grains with solubles, and facilities which provide or pre-process feedstocks or thermal energy fuels. If energy is supplied to the fuel production facility by a co-located cogeneration plant and that plant also supplies energy to other facilities, those other facilities must be identified and described. For facilities that are co-located with other production facilities or utilize multiple processing operations in addition to fuel production, demonstration of energy use should conform to section 95488.6(a)(2)(D).

(D) A list of references covering all information sources used in the preparation of the life cycle analysis. All reference citations in the application shall include standard in-text parenthetical citations stating the author's last name and date of publication. Each in-text citation shall correspond to complete publication information provided in the list of references. Complete publication information shall at a minimum, identify the author(s), title of the referenced document (and of the article within that document, if applicable), publisher, publication date, and pages cited. For internet citations, the reference shall include the universal resource locator (URL) address of the citation, as well as the date the web site was last accessed.

(E) One or more process flow diagrams that, singly or collectively, depict the complete fuel production process. Each piece of equipment or stream appearing on the process flow diagram shall include data on its energy and materials balance, along with any other critical information such as operating temperature, pH, rated capacity, etc.

(F) A copy of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Third Party Engineering Review Report required pursuant to 40 CFR part 80.1450 , if available. If the RFS engineering report is not available, the Life Cycle Analysis Report shall explain why it is not available.

(G) A copy of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Fuel Producer Co-products Report as required pursuant to 40 CFR 80.1451(b)(1)(ii)(M)-(N), if available.

(3) Tier 2 Pathways for EER-Adjusted Carbon Intensity. Applicants supplying fuel for a transportation application that is not included in Table 5 may apply for an EER-adjusted carbon intensity for reporting and credit generation purposes.

(A) Documentation Requirements. To request an EER-adjusted carbon intensity, the applicant must provide the following in addition to subsections (1) and (2) above:

1. A letter of intent to request an EER-adjusted CI and why the EER values provided in Table 5 do not apply.

2. Supplemental information including a detailed description of the methodology used, all assumptions made, and all data and references used for calculation of the proposed EER-adjusted CI value. The methodology used must compare the useful output from the alternative fuel technology to that of comparable conventional fuel technology.

3. If the applicant plans to use a Lookup Table pathway to request an EER-adjusted CI then subsections (1) and (2) above do not apply.

(b) Scientific Defensibility. For a proposed Tier 2 pathway to be certifiable by the Executive Officer, the fuel pathway applicant must demonstrate that the life cycle analysis prepared in support of the pathway application is scientifically defensible in the Executive Officer's best engineering and scientific judgment.

For purposes of this regulation, "scientifically defensible" means the method for calculating the fuel's carbon intensity may rely on, but is not limited to, publication of the proposed pathway in a major, well-established and peer-reviewed scientific journal (e.g., the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment; The Journal of Cleaner Production, Biomass and Bioenergy).

(c) Documents for Public Review. Section 95488.8(c) contains requirements for submittal of documents that contain confidential business information and redacted versions for posting to a public LCFS web site.

(d) Certification Process for Tier 2 Pathway Applications.

(1) Completeness Review. The Executive Officer will evaluate the LCA Report, CA-GREET3.0 model, and all submitted documentation for completeness in order to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the pathway application and confirm that the methods presented are appropriate from an LCA perspective and confirm that the fuel pathway application meets the requirements for the Tier 2 classification. The Executive Officer may contact the fuel pathway applicant for an explanation of any questionable inputs, methods or lack of information in the application. The applicant must respond and address the request within 15 business days, as provided in subsection (1)(B) below:

(A) Application Complete. If the Executive Officer deems the Tier 2 application and LCA report complete and appropriate, the applicant will be notified accordingly and provided with a list of site-specific inputs required for validation. The fuel pathway applicant must then seek the services of an Executive Officer accredited verification body for validation as specified in section 95500.

(B) Application Incomplete. If the Executive Officer deems the Tier 2 application incomplete, and the applicant does not provide a satisfactory response to address the deficiencies within 15 business days, the Executive Officer will reject the pathway application without prejudice and inform the applicant of the rationale for rejection. Fuel pathway applicants whose applications are rejected may submit a new application that addresses deficiencies highlighted during the earlier review.

(2) Site-specific Inputs. Tier 2 pathways are expected to be unique with no predetermined life cycle analysis profile; therefore, such pathways do not include a defined set of predetermined site-specific inputs that are required to be provided in the annual Fuel Pathway Report and must be verified. The Executive Officer shall identify all site-specific inputs for a Tier 2 pathway and make this available for review by the fuel pathway applicant. This includes any non-numerical parameters or conditions which must be checked by the verifier. The applicant has 15 business days to review and accept the Executive Officer's proposed site-specific inputs. If there is disagreement, the applicant may suggest modified site-specific inputs within this period. The Executive Officer will review the applicant's suggested inputs and present to the applicant a final list of site-specific inputs. The applicant then has 7 business days to accept the updated site-specific inputs. If the applicant disagrees with the final list of site-specific inputs, the applicant may withdraw the pathway application; if not withdrawn, the application will be rejected by the Executive Officer. The Executive Officer's decision regarding the final list of site-specific inputs for Tier 2 pathways is binding.

(3) Validation. A positive or qualified positive validation statement must be received by the Executive Officer from the verification body in order for CARB's evaluation and certification of the pathway application to proceed. In cases where a single applicant or a joint applicant does not complete validation, the application will be denied without prejudice. In cases where an applicant cannot complete validation within six months of submitting an application, or receives an adverse validation statement, the application will be denied without prejudice.

(4) Engineering Review. The Executive Officer has the authority to request any supporting documentation to investigate specific inputs in the fuel pathway applicant's submitted CA-GREET3.0 model. The Executive Officer will evaluate all applications against the following criteria:

(A) The Executive Officer will attempt to replicate the applicant's carbon intensity calculations. Replication will proceed as follows:

1. Starting with a copy of CA-GREET3.0 that has not previously been used for calculations associated with the proposed pathway, the Executive Officer will enter all the inputs reported by the applicant.

2. The Executive Officer will then apply all CA-GREET3.0 modifications reported by the applicant.

3. If the Executive Officer is able to duplicate the applicant's results, the Executive Officer will proceed to subsection (B) below. If the Executive Officer is not able to duplicate the applicant's CA-GREET3.0 results, the application shall be denied.

(B) The Executive Officer will evaluate the validity of all inputs and methods not directly related to energy consumption used to calculate the applicant's CI. If any of those inputs are found to be invalid, the application will be denied.

(C) The Executive Officer will complete a pathway summary containing the site-specific inputs, the facility average fuel production yield, CI results, and any applicable limitations or conditions. The pathway summary, with CBI redacted, will be posted to the LCFS web site for public review.

(5) Public Comment Period. The application package, containing the Executive Officer's pathway summary and the documents prepared by the applicant for public review, will be posted to the LCFS web site for public comment once the Executive Officer completes a final check of the pathway application to ensure it has met all requirements for certification.

(A) Comments will be accepted for 10 business days following the date on which the application was posted. Only comments related to potential factual or methodological errors will require responses from the fuel pathway applicant. The Executive Officer will forward to the applicant all comments identifying potential factual or methodological errors. In response, the applicant must either:

1. Make revisions to its application that respond to the comments received and submit those revisions to the Executive Officer. The revised application packet must include a detailed discussion of the revisions made. The discussion must clearly delineate how each comment is related to a responsive revision. The revisions submitted must be approved by the Executive Officer before the application can be certified;

2. Submit a detailed written response to the Executive Officer explaining why no revisions are necessary. The response submitted by the fuel pathway applicant must be approved by the Executive Officer before the application can be certified;

3. As specified in subsection 1, revise portions of the application in response to a subset of the comments received, and, as specified in subsection 2., submit a written response explaining why the remaining comments do not warrant revisions; or

4. Withdraw the application.

(B) The Executive Officer will evaluate the fuel pathway applicant's responses to the comments received, and determine whether they have adequately addressed the potential factual or methodological errors identified in those comments. If deemed adequate, those responses will be posted to the LCFS web site, and the pathway (revised as needed) will be certified and posted to the LCFS web site. If the applicant fails to submit responses or the responses are deemed inadequate, the application will be denied.

(6) Certification. The Executive Officer may certify or reject a pathway application. Upon certification of a Tier 2 application, the pathway will be available for reporting for the quarter in which it was deemed complete. Upon certification, the fuel pathway applicant(s) becomes the fuel pathway holder(s) for the certified fuel pathway and is subject to the requirements of 95488.10 in order for that pathway to remain eligible for reporting and credit generation purposes.

1. New section filed 1-4-2019; operative 1-4-2019 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2019, No. 1).

Note: Authority cited: Sections 38510, 38530, 38560, 38560.5, 38571, 38580, 39600, 39601, 41510, 41511 and 43018, Health and Safety Code; 42 U.S.C. section 7545; and Western Oil and Gas Ass'n v. Orange County Air Pollution Control District, 14 Cal.3d 411, 121 Cal.Rptr. 249 (1975). Reference: Sections 38501, 38510, 39515, 39516, 38571, 38580, 39000, 39001, 39002, 39003, 39515, 39516, 41510, 41511 and 43000, Health and Safety Code; Section 25000.5, Public Resources Code; and Western Oil and Gas Ass'n v. Orange County Air Pollution Control District, 14 Cal.3d 411, 121 Cal.Rptr. 249 (1975).

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