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Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Renewable Oxygenate Requirements for Reformulated Gasoline
[Federal Register: November 28, 1994] ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 80 [AMS-FRL-5113-5] RIN 2060-AE60 Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Renewable Oxygenate Requirements for Reformulated Gasoline AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency. ACTION: Notice of judicial stay
SUMMARY: In the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act (the Act), Congress required that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgate regulations requiring the sale of reformulated gasoline (RFG) in certain ozone nonattainment areas and restricting the sale of non-reformulated, or conventional, gasoline. EPA issued a final rule for reformulated and conventional gasoline on December 15, 1993. On June 30, 1994, EPA revised these regulations to require that a certain minimum amount of the oxygenates used in reformulated gasoline be from renewable sources.
A petition to review the renewable oxygenate requirements was filed with the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and petitioners sought a stay of the renewable oxygenate requirements pending judicial review. On September 13, 1994, the court granted petitioners' request and stayed these requirements pending review.DATES: Effective September 13, 1994, the amendments to 40 CFR part 80 published on August 2, 1994 (59 FR 39258) are stayed.
ADDRESSES: Materials relevant to the renewable oxygenate final rule are contained in Public Docket A-93-49, located at Room M 1500, Waterside Mall (ground floor), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street SW., Washington, DC 20460. Information relevant to this rulemaking may also be found in dockets A-91-02 and A-92-12, which are hereby incorporated by reference into docket A-93-49 for the purposes of this rulemaking. The docket may be inspected from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. A reasonable fee may be charged by EPA for copying docket materials.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann Marie Cooney, Office of Mobile Sources, Field Operations and Support Division, Code 6406J, U.S.EPA, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington D.C., 20460, tel. (202) 233-9013.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 30, 1994, EPA issued a final rule revising the regulations for the reformulated gasoline program.<SUP>1 That final rule establishes a performance standard for each refiner and importer of reformulated gasoline, requiring that a specified percentage of the oxygen content of their reformulated gasoline be from renewable oxygenates. The renewable oxygenate requirement is to be phased-in such that 15 percent of the oxygen content of the reformulated gasoline would have to be from renewable oxygenates in 1995, increasing to 30 percent in 1996. The requirement was set as an annual average requirement, with provisions for credit generation and transfer between refiners and importers.
\1\59 FR 39258 (August 2, 1994).
On July 13, 1994 the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the National Petroleum Refiners Association (NPRA) filed a petition for review of these requirements in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, under section 307(b) of the Clean Air Act. API and NPRA v. EPA, No. 94-1502. Petitioners subsequently filed a motion for a stay pending judicial review, and a motion for summary reversal or in the alternative for expedited consideration of the petition for review.
On September 13, 1994 the court granted petitioners' motion for a stay pending judicial review. At the same time, the court denied petitioners' motion for summary reversal and expedited the schedule for judicial review. The court set a briefing schedule requiring completion of all briefing by January 12, 1995, and directed that the clerk set oral argument on the first available time after that date. Given the expedited schedule for judicial review, EPA believes that the court might issue a decision as early as the spring of 1995, although it could be later. In light of this schedule, and the upcoming beginning of the reformulated gasoline program, EPA believes it would be useful to provide certain basic information for all interested parties.
First, it is important to note that the judicial stay only affects that part of the reformulated gasoline program relating to the required use of renewable oxygenates. It does not affect any other aspect of either the reformulated gasoline or conventional gasoline programs. The reformulated gasoline regulations will go into effect December 1, 1994, and the conventional gasoline regulations on January 1, 1995. The judicial stay only affects the regulations issued on June 30, 1994--all other regulations for reformulated and conventional gasoline will go into effect as previously announced.
Second, if EPA's renewable oxygenate regulations are upheld on judicial review, EPA would expect to implement the renewable oxygenate program as expeditiously as practical. EPA would try to implement the program in a way that maximizes its benefits, taking into consideration various factors such as the benefits that would have been achieved absent a stay, the amount of renewable oxygenates voluntarily used in reformulated gasoline during the pendency of the stay, and other issues relevant to implementation of the program. EPA cannot, at this time, decide exactly how it will implement the renewable oxygenate program if it prevails on judicial review. The limits on EPA's discretion and the implementation options reasonably available will depend in large part on the facts and circumstances then in existence, as well as the timing and actual terms of the court's decision, to the extent it addresses implementation issues. However, to the extent feasible, EPA will at that time evaluate various options and will seriously consider providing credits to refiners and importers who voluntarily use renewable oxygenates during the term of the judicial stay.Dated: November 14, 1994.
Mary D. Nichols,
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. [FR Doc. 94-29152 Filed 11-25-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P