The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sent its proposed renewable fuel standard volume mandates to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 mandates that 18.15 billion gallons of renewable fuels be blended into the fuel supply in 2014, up from the 16.55 billion gallons required in 2013. The 2014 requirement includes 3.75 billion gallons of advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel.
However, EPA said in its 2013 standards issued August 15 that it is willing to reduce the 2014 blending mandate to avoid reaching the ethanol blend wall, which is the point at which the amount of ethanol that must be blended into the gasoline supply exceeds 10 percent. EPA sent the proposed rule for 2014 to OMB on August 30. EPA is required to issue the final standard by November 30, but the agency has missed that deadline in recent years.
Ethanol trade groups told Bloomberg BNA on September 4 that they have not received any indication from EPA yet as to how it might approach the 2014 standard. However, they remain opposed to a recent petroleum industry petition asking EPA to reduce the 2014 blending requirements to avoid breaching the blend wall.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) are asking EPA via petition to use its waiver authority under Section 211 of the Clean Air Act to set the overall renewable fuel blending requirement for 2014 at 14.8 billion gallons. That would keep the amount of ethanol that they are required to blend into the gasoline supply in 2014 below 10 percent, according to the petition.
The Renewable Fuels Association, an ethanol trade group, opposed the petition, arguing that API and AFPM lack the standing to request the waiver because they are trade groups and not directly subject to the renewable fuel standard requirements.
The Energy Information Administration projects the United States will consume 132.8 billion gallons of gasoline in 2014.
