Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Identification of Additional Qualifying Renewable Fuel Pathways Under the Renewable Fuel Standard Program

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Environmental Protection Agency 40 CFR Part 80 [EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0542; FRL-9502-2] RIN 2060-AR07 AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Direct final rule. SUMMARY: EPA is issuing a direct final rule identifying additional fuel pathways that EPA has determined meet the biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel or cellulosic biofuel lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements specified in Clean Air Act section 211(o), the Renewable Fuel Standard Program, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). This direct final rule describes EPA's evaluation of biofuels produced from camelina oil, energy cane, giant reed, and napiergrass; it also includes an evaluation of renewable gasoline and renewable gasoline blendstocks, as well as biodiesel from esterification, and clarifies our definition of renewable diesel. We are also finalizing two changes to regulation that were proposed on July 1, 2011( 76 FR 38844 ). The first change adds ID letters to pathways to facilitate references to specific pathways. The second change adds “rapeseed” to the existing pathway for renewable fuel made from canola oil. This direct final rule adds these pathways to Table in regulation as pathways which have been determined to meet one or more of the GHG reduction thresholds specified in CAA 211(o), and assigns each pathway a corresponding D-Code. It allows producers or importers of fuel produced pursuant to these pathways to generate Renewable Iden…