Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Recordkeeping and Reporting for the Renewable Fuel Standard Program

Byron J. Bunker
Environmental Protection Agency
8 December 2017

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 235 (Friday, December 8, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57973-57974]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26529]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0599; FRL-9971-44-OAR]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; 
Recordkeeping and Reporting for the Renewable Fuel Standard Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to submit an 
information collection request (ICR), ``Recordkeeping and Reporting for 
the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program,'' EPA ICR No. 2546.01, OMB 
Control No. 2060-NEW) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Before doing so, EPA is soliciting public 
comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as 
described below. This is a request for approval of a new collection. An 
Agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to 
respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 6, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2017-0599, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by 
email to a-and-r-docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public docket without change including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information 
claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information for which disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Anne-Marie Pastorkovich, Attorney/
Advisor, Office of Air and Radiation/Office of Transportation and Air 
Quality, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
(6405A), Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-343-9623; fax 
number: 202-343-2800; email address: pastorkovich.anne-marie@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents which explain in detail 
the information that the EPA will be collecting are available in the 
public docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at 
www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC West, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The telephone 
number for the Docket Center is 202-566-1744. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA is soliciting 
comments and information to enable it to: (i) Evaluate whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the 
information will have practical utility; (ii) evaluate the accuracy of 
the Agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (iii) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (iv) minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through the use of appropriate automated electronic, mechanical, or 
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. EPA 
will consider the comments received and amend the ICR as appropriate. 
The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for review and 
approval. At that time, EPA will issue another Federal Register notice 
to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to 
submit additional comments to OMB.
    This ICR package is a new information collection that is intended 
to streamline and update estimates related to RFS. This new collection 
includes elements of some existing RFS ICRs. The goal of this new, 
consolidated ICR is to put all RFS estimates into one, consistent, and 
easy-to-understand format. We hope that this single RFS ICR package 
will assist interested parties in better understanding all of the 
information collection activities associated with RFS.

What is the RFS program?

    The RFS program was created under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 
(EPAct), which amended the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Energy Independence 
and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) further amended the CAA by expanding 
the RFS program. EPA implements RFS in consultation with U.S. 
Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy. The RFS program 
is a national policy that requires a certain volume of renewable fuel 
to replace or reduce the quantity of petroleum-based transportation 
fuel, heating oil or jet fuel.
    Obligated parties under the RFS program are refiners or importers 
of gasoline or diesel fuel. Obligated parties, and exporters of 
renewable fuel, must meet an annual Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO). 
Parties meet their RVO by blending renewable fuels into transportation 
fuel, or by obtaining credits (called ``Renewable Identification 
Numbers'', or RINs). EPA calculates and establishes RVOs every year 
through rulemaking, based on the CAA volume requirements and 
projections of gasoline and diesel production for the coming year. The 
standards are converted into a percentage and obligated parties must

[[Page 57974]]

demonstrate compliance annually. RINs are the credits that obligated 
parties use to demonstrate compliance with the standard. RINS are 
generated by producers and importers of renewable fuels and traded by 
various parties. Obligated parties must obtain sufficient RINs for each 
category in order to demonstrate compliance with the annual standard.
    In order to track compliance with the RFS program, various parties 
involved with the production and blending of renewable fuels, and who 
generate, trade or use RINs, must register with EPA and submit various 
types of compliance reports related to the activity they engage in 
under the program. Our estimates as to burden are explained in the 
supporting statement that has been placed in the public docket. 
Domestic and foreign entities may be subject to these regulations and 
to the associated information collection. The RFS program was developed 
with certain flexibilities, including for small entities such as small 
refiners and small refineries, small blenders, and small volume 
production facilities and importers.

What are the recordkeeping and reporting requirements associated with 
the RFS program?

    The reporting requirements of the RFS program typically fall under 
registration and compliance reporting. Recordkeeping requirements 
include product transfer documents (PTDs) and retention of records that 
support items reported. Recordkeeping and reporting are based upon the 
role the party fills under the regulations. A party may be registered 
in more than one role. Basing the recordkeeping and reporting upon a 
party's roles in the program ensures that parties must sustain only the 
burden necessary under the program. EPA continuously assesses its 
registration and reporting systems in an effort to provide the best 
possible service to the regulated community and in order to enhance, 
simplify, and streamline the experience. Because RFS relies upon a 
marketplace of RINs, EPA has created and maintains the EPA Moderated 
Transaction System (EMTS) capable of handling a high volume of RIN 
trading activities.

Who are the respondents for the RFS program?

    The respondents to this ICR are: RIN Generators (producers and 
importers of renewable fuel), Obligated Parties (refiners and importers 
of gasoline and diesel), Exporters (of renewable fuel), RIN Owners, 
independent third-party Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) Providers, and 
certain petitioners under the international aggregate compliance 
approach (such petitions are infrequent). These parties and their 
associated information collections are described in detail in the 
supporting statement and tables, which have been placed in the docket.

Which ICRs are being consolidated into this new collection?

    This proposed ICR will supersede and replace existing information 
collection currently approved under the following titles and OMB 
control numbers (with expiration dates shown):
     Renewable Fuels Standard Program (RFS2-Supplemental), OMB 
Control Number 2060-0637; expires 10/31/2017;
     Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) Program, OMB Control Number 
2060-0640; expires 10/31/2017;
     RFS2 Voluntary RIN Quality Assurance Program, OMB Control 
Number 2060-0688; expires 4/30/2019; and
     Cellulosic Production Volume Projections and Efficient 
Producer Reporting, OMB Control Number 2060-0707, expires 12/31/2019.
    This proposed new ICR includes burdens associated with Renewable 
Fuel Pathways II and Technical Amendments to the RFS2 Standards, for 
which a final rule was published on July 18, 2014. 79 FR 42128. 
Although ICR estimates were prepared for the proposed rule, it appears 
they were not submitted to OMB with the final rule through an 
administrative error. This proposed new ICR also includes burdens 
associated with the following previously approved, but not currently 
approved, ICRs: Regulation of Fuel and Fuel Additives: 2011 Renewable 
Fuel Standards--Petition for International Aggregate Compliance 
Approach, OMB Control Number 2060-0655; expired 5/31/2017; and 
Production Outlook Report for Unregistered Renewable Fuels Producers, 
OMB Control Number 2060-0660; expired 7/31/2017.
    Form Numbers: RFS0104: RFS Activity Report, RFS0303: RFS Annual 
Compliance Report, RFS0601: RFS Renewable Fuel Producer Supplemental 
Report, RFS0701: RFS Renewable Fuel Producer Co-Products Report, 
RFS0801: RFS Renewable Biomass Report, RFS0901: RFS Production Outlook 
Report, RFS1400: Reporting Fuels under 80.1451(b)(1)(ii)(T), RFS1500: 
Reporting Fuels under 80.1451(b)(1)(ii)(T)--Finished Fuel Blending, 
RFS1600: Reporting Fuels under 80.1451(b)(1)(ii)(T)--Blender Contact, 
RFS2000: Batch Verification, RFS2100: Aggregate RIN Verification. 
RFS2200: On-Site Audit Report, RFS2300: List of Potentially Invalid 
RINs, RFS2400: Mass Balance, RFS2500: RFS Efficient Producer Data 
Report, RFS2700: RFS Cellulosic Biofuel Producer Questionnaire, EMTS: 
RFS RIN Generation Report, EMTS: RFS RIN Transaction Report.
    Respondents/affected entities: RIN Generators, Obligated Parties, 
RIN Owners, Exporters, QAP Providers, and Petitioners under the 
international aggregate compliance approach. These parties include 
producers and importers of renewable fuels and refiners and importers 
of gasoline and diesel transportation fuels.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: The RFS program represents a 
mixture of voluntary and mandatory reporting, depending upon activity. 
A single party may register with multiple program roles--e.g., a party 
might be both an obligated party and a RIN owner.
    Estimated number of respondents: 20,425
    Frequency of response: On occasion/daily, quarterly, annual.
    Total estimated burden: 530,336 (per year). Burden is defined at 5 
CFR 1320.03(b)
    Total estimated cost: $52,845,438 (per year), includes $0 
annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.

    Dated: November 27, 2017.
Byron J. Bunker,
Director, Compliance Division, Office of Transportation & Air Quality, 
Office of Air & Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2017-26529 Filed 12-7-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P