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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 3, 2024, that it has rescheduled its public webinar to discuss the implementation of the Biogas Regulatory Reform Rule (BRRR) provisions promulgated as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) final rule for 2023-2025 (the Set Rule) to April 12, 2024. 89 Fed. Reg. 23013. During the webinar, EPA intends to discuss various aspects of the BRRR program, including: All attendees must pre-register for the webinar...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host a public webinar on April 4, 2024, to discuss the implementation of the Biogas Regulatory Reform Rule (BRRR) provisions promulgated as part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) final rule for 2023-2025 (the “Set Rule”). 89 Fed. Reg. 15988. EPA states that these regulatory provisions include registration and reporting and updated regulatory provisions for the production, distribution, and use of biogas as a renewable fuel. During the...

On October 17, 2023, Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) reintroduced the Adopt Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) Act (S. 3055), a bipartisan bill directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update its greenhouse gas (GHG) modeling for all renewable fuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). According to Thune’s October 17, 2023, press release, the bill would require EPA to apply the Argonne National Lab’s...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On June 21, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program that will establish the biofuel volume requirements from 2023 to 2025. According to EPA, the final rule “builds on the RFS program’s progress over the previous two years and reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to strengthen the nation’s energy independence, advance...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On April 11, 2023, a bipartisan group of legislators led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging it to strengthen the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by maintaining the blending requirements for 2023; denying all pending Small Refinery Exemptions (SRE); eliminating proposed retroactive cuts to the renewable volume obligations (RVO); and setting RFS volumes...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on February 15, 2023, on “The Future of Low Carbon Transportation Fuels and Considerations for a National Clean Fuels Program.” The Committee heard from the following witnesses: Michael J. Graff, Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), American Air Liquide Holdings Incorporated; Geoff Cooper, President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association; and Chris Spear, President and...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On December 2, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule determining that renewable diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, naphtha, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) produced from canola/rapeseed oil via a hydrotreating process all meet the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction threshold of 50 percent required for advanced biofuels and biomass-based diesel (BBD) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program....

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On January 3, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of a draft document entitled Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress (External Review Draft) for public comment. 88 Fed. Reg. 72. EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) and Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), in consultation with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE), prepared the document....

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On December 1, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a multi-part proposal that will build on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program and seek to advance the priorities of energy security, less pollution, and consumer protection. The RFS “Set” proposal requests public input on required volumes of biofuel for the next one to three years and on a series of modifications intended to strengthen...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on November 3, 2022, entitled Renewable Fuel Standard: Actions Needed to Improve Decision-Making in the Small Refinery Exemption Program. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requires that gasoline and diesel fuels be blended with a minimum volume of renewable fuel. Small refineries can petition the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) annually for an exemption from their RFS...