Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: Standards for 2026 and 2027, Partial Waiver of 2025 Cellulosic Biofuel Volume Requirement, and Other Changes

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Parts 80 and 1090</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0505; FRL-11947-01-OAR]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2060-AW23</RIN> <SUBJECT>Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: Standards for 2026 and 2027, Partial Waiver of 2025 Cellulosic Biofuel Volume Requirement, and Other Changes</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Proposed rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to determine the applicable volume requirements for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for years after those specified in the statute. EPA is proposing the applicable volumes and percentage standards for 2026 and 2027 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel (BBD), advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. EPA is also proposing to partially waive the 2025 cellulosic biofuel volume requirement and revise the associated percentage standard due to a shortfall in cellulosic biofuel production. Finally, EPA is proposing several regulatory changes to the RFS program, including reducing the number of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) generated for imported renewable fuel and renewable fuel produced from foreign feedstocks and removing renewable electricity as a qualifying renewable fuel under the RFS program (eRINs). </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> <E T="03">Comments.</E> Comments must be received on or before August 8, 2025. <E T="03">Public Hearing.</E> EPA will announce information regarding the public hearing for this proposal in supplemental <E T="04">Federal Register</E> document. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> <E T="03">Comments.</E> Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0505, at <E T="03">http://www.regulations.gov.</E> Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from the docket. EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit to EPA's docket at <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary submission ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). Please visit <E T="03">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</E> for additional submission methods; the full EPA public comment policy; information about CBI or multimedia submissions; and general guidance on making effective comments. EPA is specifically soliciting comment on numerous aspects of the proposed rule. To facilitate comment on those portions of the rule, EPA has indexed each comment solicitation with a unique identifier ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> “A-1”, “A-2”, “B-1” . . .) to provide a consistent framework for effective and efficient provision of comments. Accordingly, we ask that commenters include the corresponding identifier when providing comments relevant to that comment solicitation. We ask that commenters include the identifier either in a heading or within the text of each comment, to make clear which comment solicitation is being addressed. We emphasize that we are not limiting comment to these identified areas and encourage submission of any other comments relevant to this proposed action. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Dallas Burkholder, Assessment and Standards Division, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Environmental Protection Agency, 2000 Traverwood Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48105; telephone number: 734-214-4766; email address: <E T="03">RFS-Rulemakings@epa.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Does this action apply to me?</HD> Entities potentially affected by this action are those involved with the production, distribution, and sale of transportation fuels ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> gasoline and diesel fuel) and renewable fuels ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, and biogas). Potentially affected categories include: <GPOTABLE COLS="3" OPTS="L2,nj,tp0,i1" CDEF="s50,15,r150"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Category</CHED> <CHED H="1">Examples of potentially affected entities</CHED> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>111110</ENT> <ENT>Soybean farming.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>111150</ENT> <ENT>Corn farming.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>112111</ENT> <ENT>Cattle farming or ranching.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>112210</ENT> <ENT>Swine, hog, and pig farming.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>211130</ENT> <ENT>Natural gas liquids extraction and fractionation.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>221210</ENT> <ENT>Natural gas production and distribution.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>324110</ENT> <ENT>Petroleum refineries (including importers).</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>325120</ENT> <ENT> Biogases, industrial ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> compressed, liquified, solid), manufacturing. </ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>325193</ENT> <ENT>Ethyl alcohol manufacturing.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>325199</ENT> <ENT>Other basic organic chemical manufacturing.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>424690</ENT> <ENT>Chemical and allied products merchant wholesalers.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>424710</ENT> <ENT>Petroleum bulk stations and terminals.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>424720</ENT> <ENT>Petroleum and petroleum products wholesalers.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>457210</ENT> <ENT>Fuel dealers.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Industry</ENT> <ENT>562212</ENT> <ENT>Landfills.</ENT> </ROW> <TNOTE> <SU>a</SU>  North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). </TNOTE> </GPOTABLE> This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide for readers regarding entities potentially affected by this action. This table lists the types of entities that EPA is now aware could potentially be affected by this action. Other types of entities not listed in the table could also be affected. To determine whether your entity would be affected by this action, you should carefully examine the applicability criteria in 40 CFR part 80. If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person listed in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Preamble Acronyms and Abbreviations</HD> Throughout this document the use of “we,” “us,” or “our” is intended to refer to EPA. We use multiple acronyms and terms in this preamble. While this list may not be exhaustive, to ease the reading of this preamble and for reference purposes, EPA defines the following terms and acronyms here: <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">AEO Annual Energy Outlook</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">AFDC Alternative Fuels Data Center</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ATJ alcohol-to-jet</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">BBD biomass-based diesel</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CAA Clean Air Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CARB California Air Resources Board</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CKF corn kernel fiber</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CNG compressed natural gas</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CWC cellulosic waiver credit</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DOE Department of Energy</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DRIA Draft Regulatory Impact Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">EIA Energy Information Administration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">EMTS EPA Moderated Transaction System</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">EU European Union</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FOG fats, oils, and greases</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">GHG greenhouse gas</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">LCFS Low Carbon Fuel Standard</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">LNG liquified natural gas</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">MSW municipal solid waste</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RFS Renewable Fuel Standard</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RIN Renewable Identification Number</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RNG renewable natural gas</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RVO Renewable Volume Obligation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">STP standard temperature and pressure</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">UCO used cooking oil</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">USDA United States Department of Agriculture</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">WTI West Texas Intermediate</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Outline of This Preamble</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Executive Summary</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Summary of the Key Provisions of This Action</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Impacts of This Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Policy Considerations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Endangered Species Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Statutory Authority</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Directive To Set Volumes Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Statutory Factors</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Statutory Conditions on Volume Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Authority To Establish Volume Requirements and Percentage Standards for Multiple Years</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Considerations Related to the Timing of This Action</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Impact on Other Waiver Authorities</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Severability</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Alternative Volume Scenarios for Analysis and Baselines</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Scope of Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE=" ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 607k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━