WASHINGTON, May 7, 2015 – A spokeswoman for the Environmental Protection Agency says EPA has submitted its Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) proposals to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for interagency review.
In an email to Agri-Pulse, the spokeswoman confirmed OMB has EPA’s RFS proposals for 2014, 2015, and 2016. “The (EPA) is committed to issuing the proposals by June 1 and finalizing volume standards by the end of this year so we can provide for long-term growth of renewable fuels,” the e-mail reads.
The hallmark policy of the renewable fuels industry has been behind schedule ever since delays in finalizing 2014 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for blending renewables with gasoline. A recent consent decree stemming from a lawsuit filed by the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers established a firm deadline for an RFS release this year.
Under the consent decree, EPA is to propose volume requirements by June 1 and finalize those requirements by November 30 for both 2014 and 2015 standards. EPA has also said it will voluntarily issue the 2016 standard as well as biomass-based diesel volume requirements for 2017 along the same timeline. All four rules are now before OMB.
If the administration holds to the June 1 deadline, OMB and other government agencies will have just over three weeks to review the proposal. The standard is expected to be available for public comment and finalized before the end of the year.
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