White House OMB reviews 2017 RFS rule

Source: By Erin Voegsel, Biomass Magazine • Posted: Friday, October 21, 2016

On Oct. 19, the U.S. EPA delivered its proposed rule to set renewable fuel standard (RFS) volume standards for 2017 and biobased diesel standards for 2018 to the White House Office of Management and Budget. OBM review marks a final step before a final rule is issued.

The proposed rule was first issued by EPA on May 18. It aims to set RFS renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for 2017, along with the 2018 RVO for biomass-based diesel. In the proposed rule, the agency set the 2017 RVO for cellulosic biofuel at 312 million gallons, with the advanced biofuel RVO at 4 billion gallons and the RVO for total renewable fuel at 18.8 billion gallons. The 2018 RVO for biomass-based diesel has been proposed at 2.1 billion gallons.

The proposed percentage standards call for renewable fuel to comprise 10.44 percent of the transportation fuel pool next year. The cellulosic standard would be 0.173 percent, with the biomass-based diesel standard at 1.67 percent, and the advanced biofuel standard at 2.22 percent.

A public comment period on the proposal closed in mid-July. During the comment period, more than 42,500 public comments were filed on the proposal.

The EPA’s Regulatory Development and Retrospective Review Tracker currently states a final rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register in December.

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