EPA Cuts '13 Cellulosic Biofuel Mandate

STREATOR, Ill. (DTN) -- The Environmental Protection Agency is slashing its 2013 cellulosic biofuel mandate from 6 million gallons to less than 1 million gallons based on actual production, the agency announced Tuesday.

EPA said the action follows the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers petitions requesting reconsideration of the standard.

The Renewable Fuel Standard mandates renewable fuels be blended into petroleum-based fuels each year, increasing to 22 billion gallons by the year 2022.

Based on data from the EPA, production of cellulosic biofuel fell vastly short of volume the RFS mandated for obligated parties, including oil refiners, blenders and importers. API and AFPM are oil and gas industry trade groups.

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The total RFS volume requirement for 2013 was originally set at 16.55 billion gallons, or 9.74% of the projected demand for petroleum-based fuels this year. Of that total, 1.28 billion gallons, or 1.13%, of the RFS mandate must be satisfied with biomass-based diesel. Advanced biofuels constitute 2.75 billion gallons, or 1.62%, of the total, with cellulosic biofuels one of the advanced biofuels nested categories, accounting for 6.0 million gallons, or 0.004%, of the 2013 RFS mandate.

"The volume of cellulosic biofuel actually produced in 2013 was 810,185 ethanol-equivalent gallons," EPA said Tuesday. "In today's action, EPA is using that volume to set a percentage standard for cellulosic biofuel for 2013 of 0.0005%. EPA originally set the 2013 cellulosic biofuel percentage standard based on a projected volume of 6 million ethanol-equivalent gallons."

"On reconsideration, section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act directs EPA to base the standard on the lower of projected production of cellulosic fuel in 2013 or the cellulosic biofuel target established in the statute," EPA said. "Since data are available to show actual production volumes for 2013, EPA's revised projection and final standard in this rule are based on actual cellulosic biofuel production in 2013," EPA continued.

API officials applauded EPA's decision.

"Nearly five months after the end of the year, EPA has finally agreed to reconsider its 2013 mandate for biofuels that do not exist," Bob Greco, API downstream group director, said in an statement emailed to media Tuesday afternoon.

"But setting unreasonable mandates isn't just bad public policy, it makes producing the fuels American consumers demand harder and more costly," Greco said. "It's time for Congress to stop the insanity and repeal the unworkable Renewable Fuel Standard."

EPA countered it believes that "timely finalization of a new 2013 cellulosic biofuel standard will reduce regulatory uncertainty as well as administrative burden for obligated parties."

EPA is also publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposed rule to revise the 2013 cellulosic standard if adverse comments are received on this direct final rule. If no adverse comments are received, EPA said it would take no further action on the proposed rule.

"EPA should base its cellulosic mandates on actual production rather than projections that -- year after year -- have fallen far short of reality," Greco said. "For four years running, biofuel producers have promised high cellulosic ethanol production that hasn't happened. EPA must also reconsider its unrealistic proposal to mandate 17 million gallons of cellulosic biofuels for 2014."

(BM/AG)

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