Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a)
Requirements for Attestation Letter. Each fuel pathway
application must include a fuel pathway applicant attestation letter. The
attestation letter must attest to the veracity of the information in the
application packet and declare that the information submitted accurately
represents the long-term, steady state operation of the fuel production process
described in the application packet. The attestation letter must conform to the
requirements of this subsection. The fuel pathway applicant attestation letter
must make the following specific attestations:
(1) No products, co-products, by-products, or
wastes undergo additional processing, such as drying, distillation, or
clean-up, once they leave the production facility, except as explicitly
included in the pathway life cycle analysis and pathway CI.
(2) All data and information supplied is true
and accurate in all areas, including, but not limited to the following:
(A) Feedstocks used to produce the
fuel;
(B) Fuel and feedstock
production technology;
(C) Regions
in which feedstocks and finished fuel are produced;
(D) Modes used to transport feedstocks and
finished fuel and the transport distances involved;
(E) Types and amounts of thermal and
electrical energy consumed in both feedstock and finished fuel
production;
(F) Full life cycle
carbon intensity, which must be no higher than the carbon intensity specified
in the Lookup Table, or Tier 1 or Tier 2 application; and
(G) Fuel production
operations.
(3) The
signed LCFS fuel pathway applicant attestation letter must:
(A) Be submitted as an electronic
copy;
(B) Be on company
letterhead;
(C) Be signed by an
officer of the applicant with the legal authority to attest to the veracity of
the information in the application and to sign on behalf of the
applicant;
(D) Be from the
applicant and not from an entity representing the applicant (such as a
consultant or legal counsel); and
(E) Include the following attestation:
I certify that the current fuel production process used
to produce ____________________ (fuel) at the _________________________
facility is consistent in all of the following areas with all information
submitted to CARB in connection with the pathway request:
1) feedstocks used in fuel
production;
2) fuel and feedstock
production technology;
3) geographic
region in which feedstocks and finished fuel are produced;
4) transportation modes used to transport
feedstocks and finished fuel and transport distances;
5) types and amounts of thermal and
electrical energy consumed in both feedstock and finished fuel production;
and
6) any other applicable fuel
pathway standard or operating condition established by CARB. The carbon
intensity (CI) of the fuel must be no higher than the CI for the certified FPC.
I understand that the following facility information
will be posted on the LCFS web site: Facility Name, Facility Address, Company
ID, Facility ID, Fuel Pathway Code(s), CI values, and Fuel Pathway
Description(s).
By submitting this form, ______________________________
(Fuel Pathway Applicant) accepts responsibility for the information herein
provided to CARB. I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the
State of California that I have personally examined, and am familiar with, the
statements and information submitted in this document. I certify that the
statements and information submitted to CARB are true, accurate, and
complete.
| ___________________________ |
| Signature | Print Name &
Title | Date |
(b) If the Executive Officer at any time
determines that a certified fuel pathway does not meet the requirements of this
subarticle or the operational conditions specified in the pathway summary
issued by the Executive Officer, the Executive Officer may revoke or modify the
certification.
(c)
Designation of Confidential Business Information. The
definition of "confidential business information," for the purposes of this
section, is the same as the definition of "trade secret" found in Government
Code, section
6254.7.
All documents (including spreadsheets and other items not in a standard
document format) that are designated to contain confidential business
information (CBI) must prominently display the phrase "Contains Confidential
Business Information" above the main document title and in a running header.
Additionally, a separate, redacted version of such documents must also be
submitted. The redacted versions must be approved by the applicant for public
posting on LCFS web site. Specific redactions must be replaced with the phrase
"Confidential business information has been redacted by the applicant." This
phrase must be displayed clearly wherever CBI has been redacted. If the
applicant claims that information it submits is confidential, it must also
provide contact information required by California Code of Regulations, title
17, section
91011.
(d)
Public Disclosure of Application
Materials and Use of Application Materials in the LCFS Data Management
System.
(1) All information not
identified as trade secrets are subject to public disclosure pursuant to
California Code of Regulations, title 17, sections
91000 through
91022 and the California Public
Records Act (Government Code §§
6250 et
seq.); and
(2) If the application
is certified by the Executive Officer, the carbon intensity value(s) and its
associated fuel pathway code(s) will be posted publicly on the LCFS web site
and incorporated into the LCFS Data Management System for use by fuel reporting
entities.
(e)
Submittal Formats.
(1) An
application, supporting documents, and all other relevant data or calculation
or other documentation must be submitted electronically via the AFP unless the
Executive Officer has approved or requested in writing another
format.
(2) The fuel pathway
applicant must not convert spreadsheets, including CA-GREET3.0 spreadsheets,
into other file formats or otherwise take steps to prevent the Executive
Officer from examining all values and calculations in those
spreadsheets.
(f)
Additional Demonstrations. Upon request from the Executive
Officer, a fuel pathway application must meet the following requirements:
(1) Demonstrate that the fuel that will be
produced under the proposed pathway would comply with all applicable ASTM or
other generally recognized national consensus standards; and
(2) Demonstrate that the fuel that will be
produced under the proposed pathway is not exempt from the LCFS under section
95482(c).
(g)
Specified Source
Feedstocks.
(1)
Pathways
Utilizing a Specified Source Feedstock. In order to be eligible for a
reduced CI that reflects the lower emissions or credit associated with the use
of a waste, residue, by-product or similar material as feedstock in a fuel
pathway, fuel pathway applicants must meet the following requirements.
(A)
Specified source feedstocks
include:1. Used cooking oil, animal
fats, fish oil, yellow grease, distiller's corn oil, distiller's sorghum oil,
brown grease, and other fats/oils/greases that are the non-primary products of
commercial or industrial processes for food, fuel or other consumer products,
which are used as feedstocks in pathways for biodiesel, renewable diesel,
alternative jet fuel, and co-processed refinery products;
2. Biomethane supplied using book-and-claim
accounting pursuant to section
95488.8(i)(2) and
is claimed as feedstock in pathways for bio-CNG, bio-LNG, bio-L-CNG, and
hydrogen via steam methane reformation;
3. Any feedstock whose supplier applies for
separate CARB recognition using site-specific CI data; and
4. Other feedstocks designated as
specified-source at the time of pathway review and prior to
certification.
(B)
Chain-of-custody Evidence. Fuel pathway applicants using
specified source feedstocks must maintain either (1) delivery records that show
shipments of feedstock type and quantity directly from the point of origin to
the fuel production facility, or (2) information from material balance or
energy balance systems that control and record the assignment of input
characteristics to output quantities at relevant points along the feedstock
supply chain between the point of origin and the fuel production facility.
Chain-of-custody evidence is used to demonstrate proper characterization and
accurate quantity. Chain-of-custody evidence must be provided to the verifier
and to CARB upon request. Joint Applicants may assume responsibility for
different portions of the chain-of-custody evidence but each such entity must
meet the following requirements to be eligible for a pathway that utilizes a
specified source feedstock:
1. Maintain
records of the type and quantity of feedstock obtained from each supplier,
including Feedstock transaction records, Feedstock Transfer Documents pursuant
to section
95488.8(g)(1)(C),
weighbridge tickets, bills of lading or other documentation for all incoming
and outgoing feedstocks;
2.
Maintain records used for material balance and energy balance
calculations.
3. Ensure CARB staff
and verifier access to audit feedstock suppliers to demonstrate proper
accounting of attributes and conformance with certified CI
data.
(C)
Feedstock Transfer Documents. A feedstock transfer document
must prominently state the information specified below.
1. Transferor Company name, address and
contact information;
2. Recipient
Company name, address and contact information;
3. Type and amount of feedstock, including
units;
4. Transaction
date.
(h)
Renewable or Low-CI Process
Energy. Unless expressly provided elsewhere in this subarticle,
indirect accounting mechanisms for renewable or low-CI process energy, such as
the use of renewable energy certificates, cannot be used to reduce CI. In order
to qualify as a low-CI process energy source, energy from that source must be
directly consumed in the production process as described in (1) and (2) below:
(1) Low-CI electricity must be supplied from
generation equipment under the control of the pathway applicant. Such
electricity must be able to demonstrate:
(A)
Any renewable energy certificates or other environmental attributes associated
with the energy are not produced, or are retired and not claimed under any
other program with the exception of the federal RFS, and the market-based
compliance mechanism set forth in title 17, California Code of Regulations
Chapter 1, Subchapter 10, article 5 (commencing with section
95800).
(B) The generation equipment is directly
connected through a dedicated line to a facility such that the generation and
the load are both physically located on the customer side of the utility meter.
The generation source may be grid-tied, but a dedicated connection must exist
between the source and load.
(C)
The facility's load is sufficient to match the amount of low-CI electricity
claimed using a monthly balancing period.
(2) Biogas or biomethane must be physically
supplied directly to the production facility. The applicant must submit the
attestation set forth below in section
95488.8(i)(2)(C)2.
(3) Solar steam or heat generation must be
physically supplied directly to the production facility, and any environmental
attributes associated with the energy are not produced, or are retired and not
claimed under any other program with the exception of the federal RFS, and the
market-based compliance mechanism set forth in title 17, California Code of
Regulations Chapter 1, Subchapter 10, article 5 (commencing with section
95800).
(i)
Indirect Accounting for Renewable
or Low-CI Electricity and Biomethane.
(1)
Book-and-Claim Accounting for
Renewable or Low-CI Electricity Supplied as a Transportation Fuel or Used to
Produce Hydrogen. Reporting entities may use indirect accounting
mechanisms for low-CI electricity supplied as a transportation fuel or for
hydrogen production through electrolysis for transportation purposes (including
hydrogen that is used in the production of a transportation fuel), provided the
conditions set forth below are met:
(A)
Reporting entities may report low-CI electricity used as a transportation fuel
or as an input to hydrogen production delivered through the grid without regard
to physical traceability if it meets all requirements of this subarticle. The
low-CI electricity must be supplied to the grid within a California Balancing
Authority (or local balancing authority for hydrogen produced outside of
California) or alternatively, meet the requirements of California Public
Utilities Code section
399.16,
subdivision (b)(1). Such book-and-claim accounting for low-CI electricity may
span only three quarters. If a low-CI electricity quantity (and all associated
environmental attributes, including a beneficial CI) is supplied to the grid in
the first calendar quarter, the quantity claimed for LCFS reporting must be
matched to grid electricity used as a transportation fuel or for hydrogen
production no later than the end of the third calendar quarter. After that
period is over, any unmatched low-CI electricity quantities expire for the
purpose of LCFS reporting.
(B)
Low-CI electricity can be indirectly supplied through a green tariff program
(including the Green Tariff Shared Renewables program described in California
Public Utilities Code Section
2831-
2833)
or other contractual electricity supply relationship that meets the following
requirements:
1. Electricity is generated by,
or supplied under contract to, the pathway applicant for all environmental
attributes of the claimed electricity. In order to substantiate low-CI
electricity claims, the applicant must make contracts available to the
Executive Officer, upon request, to demonstrate that the electricity meets the
requirements of this subarticle. Generation invoices or metering records are
required to substantiate the quantity of low-CI electricity produced from the
renewable assets. Monthly invoices must be unredacted copies of originals
showing electricity sourced (in kWh) and contracted price;
2. All electricity procured by any LSE for
the purpose of claiming a lower CI must be in addition to that required for
compliance with the California Renewables Portfolio Standard (described in
California Public Utilities Code sections
399.11-
399.32)
or, for hydrogen produced outside of California, in addition to local renewable
portfolio requirements;
3.
Renewable energy certificates or other environmental attributes associated with
the electricity, if any, are retired and not claimed under any other program
with the exception of the federal RFS, and the market-based compliance
mechanism set forth in title 17, California Code of Regulations Chapter 1,
Subchapter 10, article 5 (commencing with section
95800). Retirement of renewable
energy credits for the purpose of demonstrating Green Tariff Shared Renewables
procurement to the California Public Utilities Commission does not constitute a
double claim.
(2)
Book-and-Claim Accounting for
Pipeline-Injected Biomethane Used as a Transportation Fuel or to Produce
Hydrogen. Indirect accounting may be used for RNG used as a
transportation fuel or to produce hydrogen for transportation purposes
(including hydrogen that is used in the production of a transportation fuel),
provided the conditions set forth below are met:
(A) RNG injected into the common carrier
pipeline in North America (and thus comingled with fossil natural gas) can be
reported as dispensed as bio-CNG, bio-LNG, or bio-L-CNG, or as an input to
hydrogen production, without regards to physical traceability. Entities may
report natural gas as RNG within only a three-quarter time span. If a quantity
of RNG (and all associated environmental attributes, including a beneficial CI)
is pipeline-injected in the first calendar quarter, the quantity claimed for
LCFS reporting must be matched to natural gas sold in California as RNG no
later than the end of the third calendar quarter. After that period is over,
any unmatched RNG quantities expire for the purpose of LCFS
reporting.
(B) To substantiate RNG
quantities injected into the pipeline for dispensing as bio-CNG, bio-LNG, or
bio-L-CNG or as an input to hydrogen production, the pathway application and
subsequent Annual Fuel Pathway Reports must include the following documents
linking the environmental attributes of RNG (in MMBtu or Therms) with
corresponding quantities of natural gas withdrawn: unredacted monthly invoices
showing the quantities of RNG (in MMBtu) sourced and the contracted price per
unit; and the unredacted contract by which the fuel pathway holder obtained the
environmental attributes.
(C)
Attestations Regarding Environmental Attributes.
1.
Upstream Attestations. An
entity reporting any RNG as a transportation fuel in LRT-CBTS, and a fuel
pathway holder using biogas or biomethane as feedstock or process energy, must
obtain and keep attestations from each upstream party collectively
demonstrating that (a) the entity claiming the environmental attributes has the
exclusive right to claim environmental attributes associated with the sale or
use of the biogas or biomethane, and (b) the environmental attributes have not
been used or claimed in any other program or jurisdictions with the exception
of the federal RFS, and the market-based compliance mechanism set forth in
title 17, California Code of Regulations Chapter 1, Subchapter 10, article 5
(commencing with section
95800). The attestations must be
made available to the Executive Officer or a verifier upon request. The
inability to promptly produce the attestations constitutes ground for credit
invalidation pursuant to section
95495.
2.
Attestation to CARB. An
officer of any entity reporting biomethane in LRT-CBTS under the provisions of
section 95488.8(i)(2),
and an officer of any fuel pathway holder claiming use of biogas or biomethane
as process energy under the provisions of section
95488.8(h)(2),
must annually submit the following attestation to the Executive Officer:
I certify that to the extent that the gas used in the
fuel pathway or supplied as transportation fuel is characterized as biomethane,
____________________ (entity name) owns the exclusive rights to the
corresponding environmental attributes.
____________________ (entity name) has not sold,
transferred, or retired those environmental attributes in any program or
jurisdiction other than the federal RFS.
Based on diligent inquiry and review of contracts and
attestations from our business partners, I certify under penalty of perjury
under the laws of the State of California that no other party has or will sell,
transfer, or retire the environmental attributes corresponding to the
biomethane for which ____________________ (entity name) claims credit in the
LCFS program.
| ___________________________ |
| Signature | Print Name &
Title | Date |
(j)
Measurement Accuracy.
(1)
Calibration Requirement.
All measurement devices that log or record data for use in fuel pathway
applications must comply with the manufacturer-recommended calibration
frequency and precision requirements. If manufacturer-recommendations are not
provided, the measurement devices must be calibrated every six years.
(2)
Requests to Postpone
Calibration. For units and processes that operate continuously with
infrequent outages, it may not be possible to meet manufacturer-recommended
calibration deadlines for measurement devices. In such cases, the owner or
operator may submit a written request to the Executive Officer to postpone
calibration or inspection until the next scheduled maintenance outage. Such
postponements are subject to the procedures of subsections (A) through (B)
below and must be documented in the monitoring plan.
(A) A written request for postponement must
be submitted to the Executive Officer not less than 30 days before the required
calibration, recalibration or inspection date. The Executive Officer may
request additional documentation to validate the operator's claim that the
device meets the accuracy requirements of this section. The operator shall
provide any additional documentation to CARB within ten (10) business days of a
request by CARB.
(B) The request
must include:
1. The date of the required
calibration, recalibration, or inspection;
2. The date of the last calibration or
inspection;
3. The date of the most
recent field accuracy assessment, if applicable;
4. The results of the most recent field
accuracy assessment, if applicable, clearly indicating a pass/fail
status;
5. The proposed date for
the next field accuracy assessment, if applicable;
6. The proposed date for calibration,
recalibration, or inspection which must be during the time period of the next
scheduled shutdown. If the next shutdown will not occur within three years,
this must be noted and a new request must be received every three years until
the shutdown occurs and the calibration, recalibration or inspection is
completed.
7. A description of the
meter or other device, including at a minimum:
a. Make,
b. Model,
c. Install date,
d. Location,
e. Parameter measured by the meter or other
device, including the data capture rate,
f. Description of how data from the meter or
other device is used in a fuel pathway,
g. Calibration or inspection
procedure,
h. Reason for delaying
calibration or inspection,
i.
Proposed method to ensure that the precision requirements listed by the
manufacturer are upheld,
j. Name,
title, phone number and e-mail of contact person capable of responding to
questions regarding the
device.
(k)
Missing Data Provisions.
(1)
Meter Record, Accuracy, or
Calibration Requirements Not Met. If a measurement device is not
functional, not calibrated within the time period recommended by the
manufacturer, or fails a field accuracy assessment, the operator must otherwise
demonstrate to the verifier that the reported data are accurate within +/-5
percent.
(A) If the operator can demonstrate
to the verifier that reported data are accurate, the data are acceptable. The
entity must then provide a detailed plan describing when the measurement device
will be brought into calibration. This plan is subject to approval by the
Executive Officer.
(B) If the
operator cannot demonstrate to the verifier that reported data are accurate,
the data is not acceptable and missing data provisions
apply.
(2)
Missing Data Provisions. If missing data exists, the entity
must submit for Executive Officer approval an alternate method of reporting the
missing data. Alternate methods shall be evaluated on a case-by-case
basis.
(3)
Force Majeure
Events. In the event of a facility shutdown or disruption drastically
affecting production attributable to a force majeure event, the fuel pathway
applicant or holder must notify the Executive Officer.
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).
