Improving the Petition Process for
New Renewable Fuel Pathways
For the March 2010 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) final rule,
EPA assessed the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of
multiple renewable fuel pathways. Assessment of lifecycle GHG emis-
sions is necessary to determine which fuel pathways meet the GHG
reduction thresholds under RFS for the four required renewable fuel
categories. Approved fuel pathways are specified in Table 1 to 40 CFR
80.1426(f) of the RFS regulations or in EPA responses to petitions
submitted pursuant to § 80.1416. The regulations and petition
responses are summarized on the EPA website.1
The petition process in § 80.1416 is important because as technology advances,
new biofuel pathways are identified that EPA has not evaluated. These changes
may include use of new feedstocks in existing production processes, modification of
production processes, or use of new feedstocks in new production processes. In all
cases, identifying new renewable fuel pathways that comply with the RFS regulatory
criteria aligns with the statutory goals of increasing renewable fuel production and
use and thereby reducing GHG emissions from the transportation sector and imports
of petroleum.
We have determined that improvements should be made to the petition process to
enable more timely and efficient decision-making. In order to evaluate and imple-
ment these improvements EPA is taking a period of time to update the current
system to provide greater efficiency and improved public service. This process will
include several elements:
• Undertaking a Lean government exercise to improve the quality, transparency
and efficiency of our internal review processes.2
• Developing improved guidance for petitioners, including step-by-step instruc-
tions and application templates for different types of petitions. One goal of
1 www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/new-pathways/rfs2-pathways-determinations.htm
2 www.epa.gov/lean/government/
SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
EPA-420-F-14-011
March 2014
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the updated guidance and templates will be to help applicants provide all of the data
that EPA needs to complete its assessments, while also reducing extraneous information.
Launching a more automated review process for petitions using previously approved
feed-stocks and well known production process technologies (e.g., dry mill ethanol
plants).
We firmly believe the long-term performance of the petition process will benefit from these
efforts. We expect this process to take approximately six months. During this time, we suggest
that parties considering new petitions pursuant to § 80.1416 delay their submissions until the
new guidance is provided. Those submitting new petitions during the six-month period may be
asked to resubmit following the new guidance, once it is released.
During this period EPA intends to continue reviewing pending petitions that are high priority,
and pending petitions for which substantial modeling has already been done. Considering
resource limitations, the Agency needs to set priorities with respect to petition reviews. Consis-
tent with statutory intent and our experience to date, we believe petitions for new fuel pathways
can be prioritized based on the following criteria:
• Ability to contribute to the cellulosic biofuel mandate,
• Potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions on a per gallon basis, for example by
using feedstocks that likely do not have significant indirect land use change emissions
(such as non-food feedstocks).3
• Ability to contribute to near-term increases in renewable fuel use. This criterion would
include, for example, consideration of the ability of the intended biofuel product to be
readily incorporated into the existing fuel distribution network.4
Petitions that are similar based on the above criteria will be further prioritized based on close-
ness to commercialization and date of petition submission. As we take this time to improve the
process, we intend to contact parties who have already submitted petitions to discuss their status
with respect to the above criteria.
Our objectives are a more efficient and transparent petition process with improved public service.
We look forward to receiving input from our stakeholders with ideas about how to improve the
petition process as we move forward with this initiative. Stakeholders who wish to provide input
can do so by emailing the EPA Fuels Programs Support Line at support@epamts-support.com
with "Petition Process Input" as the subject line.
3 Non-food feedstocks are feedstocks that are not primarily used for food or feed purposes.
4 In general, drop-in biofuels are the biofuels that are most readily incorporated into the existing network. Drop-in
biofuels tend to be substantially similar to the conventional petroleum-based fuels that they replace, and require
no significant changes in infrastructure, vehicles or performance. Examples of drop-in biofuels include renewable
diesel, renewable gasoline, renewable jet fuel, pipeline quality biogas and renewable electricity.
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