Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Renewable Oxygenate Requirements for Reformulated Gasoline

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

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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.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.

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\1\59 FR 39258 (August 2, 1994).

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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