EPA finalizes 2023-2025 RVOs, delays implementation of eRINs
Summary
This includes modification of regulatory provisions for biogas-derived renewable fuels to ensure that biogas is produced from renewable biomass and used as a transportation fuel and allow for the use of biogas as an biointermediate; enhancements to third-party oversight provisions, including engineering reviews, the RFS quality assurance program, and annual attest engagements; establishing a deadline for third-party engineering reviews for three-year registration updates; updating procedures for the apportionment of RINs when feedstocks qualifying for multiple D-codes are converted to biogas simultaneously in an anaerobic digester; revising the conversion factor in the formula for calculating the percentage standard for biomass-based diesel to reflect increasing production volumes of renewable diesel; flexibility for RIN generation; reiterating the prohibition on generating RINs not used in the covered location; flexibilities for the generation and maintenance of records for waste feedstock; clarifying the definition of fuel used in ocean-going vessels; modifications to the bonding requirements for foreign parties that participate in the RFS program; and other minor changes and technical corrections. As the organization noted in oral testimony and written comments to EPA, the agency’s initial proposal for incorporating eRINs into the RFS was overly complex and inconsistent with RIN generation provisions for all other renewable fuels. “EPA’s decision to lower its ambitions for conventional biofuels runs counter to the direction set by Congress and will needlessly slow progress toward this administration’s climate goals. “With EPA’s Final SET Rule, biogas systems will serve a foundational role in the future growth of the renewable transportation fuel industry, reducing methane emissions, and increasing food waste recycling,” said Patrick Serfass, executive director of the ABC. Now, it’s up to the Administration to finish what Congress created and allow biogas-electricity systems to modernize and continue to decrease the carbon footprint of the U.S. transportation.” A full copy of the final RFS “set” rule can be found on the EPA website.