Amendments to the Renewable Fuel
Standard and Diesel Sulfur Programs
EPA is issuing a Direct Final Rule (DFR) to amend the definition
of heating oil in 40 CFR § 80.1401 in the Renewable Fuel Stan-
dard (RFS) program under section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act.
Today's DFR will also amend two aspects of the diesel sulfur program:
to provide additional flexibility for transmix processors who produce
locomotive and marine diesel fuel, and to amend the fuel marker
requirements to allow solvent yellow 124 (SY124) to transition out
of the distribution system.
Also today, EPA is issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to accomplish
the same amendments if any adverse comment is received on the DFR,
Overview
Amended Definition of Home Heating Oil
This rule amends the definition of heating oil in 40 CFR § 80.1401 in the renewable
fuel standard ("RFS" or "RFS2") program promulgated under section 211(o) of the
Clean Air Act (CAA). This amendment will expand the scope of renewable fuels
that can generate Renewable Identification Numbers ("RINs") as "home heating
oil" to include fuel oil that will be used to generate heat to warm buildings or other
facilities where people live, work, recreate, or conduct other activities. This rule will
allow producers or importers of fuel oil that meets the amended definition of heating
oil to generate RINs, provided that other requirements specified in the regulations
are met. Fuel oils used to generate process heat, power, or other functions will not
be approved for RIN generation under the amended definition of heating oil. The
amendment will not modify, limit, or change fuel included in the current definition
of heating oil at 40 CFR § 80.2(ccc).
SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
EPA-420-F-12-061
August 2012
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Diesel Transmix Amendments
The diesel transmix amendments will reinstate an allowance for transmix processors to produce
500 ppm sulfur diesel fuel for use in older technology locomotive and marine diesel outside of
the Northeast Mid'Atlantic Area after 2014. EPA's ocean-going vessels rule forbade this
allowance beginning 2014 because a new stream of diesel, containing up to 1000 ppm sulfur,
was introduced at that time, which we believed would provide a suitable outlet for transmix
distillate product. Transmix processors stated that they were not aware of the changes to the
500'ppm LM transmix provisions until after they were finalized, and that the ocean-going
vessels market would not be a viable outlet for their distillate product. Based on additional input
that we received from transmix processors and other stakeholders in the fuel distribution system
during our consideration of the petition, EPA believed that it would be appropriate to extend
the 500'ppm diesel transmix flexibility beyond 2014. EPA finalized a settlement agreement and
this DFR and NPRM are in accord with the settlement agreement. Our analysis indicates that
extending this flexibility beyond 2014 will have a neutral or net beneficial effect on overall
emissions.
Yellow Marker Amendments
The yellow marker amendments address an oversight in the original nonroad diesel rulemak'
ing. In that rulemaking, the regulations failed to incorporate provisions described in the rule-
making preamble. The preamble made clear that EPA intended to allow 500 ppm locomotive
marine (LM) diesel fuel containing greater than 0.10 milligrams per liter of Solvent Yellow 124
(SY124) time to transition out of the fuel distribution system. However, the regulations are not
consistent with the preamble and did not provide this same allowance.
Specifically, the regulations as currently written do not provide any transition time for un-
marked LM fuel delivered from a truck loading rack beginning June 1, 2012 to work its way
through the fuel distribution system downstream of the truck loading rack. The yellow marker
amendments will allow 500 ppm LM diesel fuel at any point in the fuel distribution and end use
system to contain more than 0.10 milligrams per liter of SY 124 through November 30, 2012,
This regulatory change will allow marked LM diesel fuel to transition normally through the LM
fuel distribution and use system. Today's rule also amends the regulation to clarify the transition
of the solvent yellow 124 marker out of heating oil beginning June 1, 2014. After December 1,
2014, EPA will no longer have any requirements with respect to the use of the SY 124 marker.
For More Information
You can access these rules and related documents on EPA's Office of Transportation and Air
Quality (OTAQ) Web site at:
www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/dieselfuels/index.htm
and
www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/alternative'renewablefuels/index.htm
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For more information, please contact EPA's Fuels Program at:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality (6405J)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20460
202-343-9755
E-mail: epafuelsprograms@epa.gov
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