How to Prepare an Efficient
Producer Petition
Version 1*0
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
-------
How to Prepare an Efficient
Producer Petition
Version 1*0
Transportation and Climate Division
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA-420-B-14-072
September 2014
-------
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 3
2. Section-by-Section Instructions 4
A. Cover Sheet (No information claimed CBI) 4
1. Date Submitted 4
2. Company Name 4
3. Name of Ethanol Production Facility 4
4. Location of Ethanol Production Facility 5
5. Fuel Pathway Requested 5
Fuel Type 5
Feedstock 5
Production Process Technology 5
RIN D-code Requested 5
6. Primary Point of Contact 5
B. Feedstock (No information claimed CBI) 6
C. Production Process 6
D. Process Energy 6
E. Coproducts 6
F. Mass and Energy Balance Data 7
G. Certification by the Responsible Corporate Officer 8
1. Responsible Corporate Officer 9
2. Certification Statement 9
H. List of Attachments 9
Appendix A: Formatting for New Fuel Pathway Petitions 10
Appendix B: Petition Cover Sheet Template 11
-------
1. Introduction
The EPA is providing detailed information on how to prepare a complete Efficient Producer petition for a
new fuel pathway under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. Parties considering an Efficient
Producer petition are strongly encouraged to start by reviewing the background information provided
on the EPA's website on whether they qualify for this expedited petition process.
This document provides details on the required information for Efficient Producer petitions, including
recommendations on organization and formatting.1 Our objective is to help petitioners provide all of
the data that EPA needs to complete life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) analyses of proposed new fuel
pathways, while also reducing extraneous information. Efficient Producer petitions that do not meet the
information requirements specified in 40 CFR 80.1416, as explained and clarified in this document and
other EPA guidance will be rejected as incomplete and no further action will be taken, meaning the
whole petition will need to be resubmitted.
This document provides step-by-step instructions for preparing a complete Efficient Producer petition.
The recommendations included in this document are based on EPA's experience implementing the
petition process since its creation in March 2010. As we continue to receive and evaluate more
petitions, we expect to update this document if we identify areas for improvement. We also welcome
constructive input from petitioners on how to improve this document. Stakeholders who wish to
provide input can do so by emailing the EPA Fuels Program Support Line at support@epamts-
support.com with "Petition Process Input" as the subject line.
1 The information requested in this document is based on the information requirements for petitions outlined in
the RFS regulations at 40 CFR 80.1416(b).
-------
2. Section-by-Section Instructions
As part of our efforts to streamline the petition review process, the EPA is asking petitioners to prepare
their application packages using the recommended organization and format provided in this document.
(See Appendix A: Formatting for New Fuel Pathway Petitions.) This section also goes through each part
of the petition outline and provides guidance on what to include in each area.
For EPA to complete its evaluation of these petitions, it is necessary for the Agency to publicly disclose
certain information about requested pathways, e.g., the name of the company that submitted the
petition, the name and location of their biofuel production facility, the type(s) of feedstocks used, the
type of fuel produced and the type of production process technology] For this reason, EPA requests that
petitioners certain sections of the Efficient Producer petition include no information claimed as
confidential business information (CBI). Below, these sections are marked as "(No information claimed
CBI)."
We also recognize that petitioners may feel it is important to claim as CBI certain technical information.
Petitioners who wish to claim certain information as CBI should clearly mark all the information claimed
as CBI as precisely as possible. We ask petitioners to clearly mark each and every page that includes
information claimed as CBI. The header of all such pages should say "Contains information claimed as
CBI," and the header should also include an explanation of how such information is marked. For
example, the header could explain that information claimed CBI is included in brackets or highlighted
yellow.
A. Cover Sheet (Wo information claimed CBI]
We ask that every petition include a one-page cover sheet. The cover sheet serves as a quick reference,
designed to help EPA staff efficiently and systematically process and review incoming petitions. An
example Cover Sheet is provided in Appendix B.
1. Date Submitted
Enter the date that the petition is submitted to the EPA.
2. Company Name
Enter the official name of the company submitting the petition. Enter only one company name.
3. Name of Ethanol Production Facility
Give the name of the ethanol production facility associated with the petition.2 Please use a brief name
(we recommend no more than three words), as this will be the name used in the EPA Moderated
Transaction System (EMTS) and EPA's determination document. A company submitting petitions for
multiple facilities should make sure that each facility has a unique name. For example, facilities could be
named after the Company and the city where they are located, e.g., Acme Washington, Acme
Washington II, Acme Detroit. Enter only one facility per petition.
2 In this document ethanol refers to undenatured ethanol.
-------
4. Location of Ethanol Production Facility
Specify the location (city, state, country) of the facility that will produce the ethanol associated with the
proposed pathway.
5. Fuel Pathway Requested
Enter the fuel, feedstock and production process technology and RIN D-code for each pathway
requested. A single petition may involve more than one fuel pathway. For example, the petition may
request pathways for corn starch ethanol, grain sorghum ethanol qualifying for renewable fuel (D-code
6) RINs and grain sorghum ethanol qualifying for advanced biofuel (D-code 5) RINs. Add rows to the
table as necessary to include all of the fuel pathways requested. Below is an example of how to fill out
the table of requested fuel pathways.
Table 1: Example listing of requested fuel pathways
Fuel Type
Ethanol
Ethanol
Feedstock
Corn starch
Grain sorghum
Production
Process
Technology
Dry mill process
Dry mill process
RIN D-code
Requested
6
5
6. Primary Point of Contact
Provide the requested contact information (see Appendix B) for the primary point of contact (POC) for
the petition. Include only one POC per petition. EPA recommends that the POC should be affiliated with
the company listed in Section A(2). If the POC is not affiliated with the lead organization, at least one
appropriate official from the lead organization should be listed under the "Additional Contact Info"
section of the Petition Cover Sheet, and included in any subsequent meetings or calls related to the
petition. EPA will send all communications regarding a petition to the POC, and it is the POC's
responsibility to disseminate information to other parties associated with the petition. These
recommendations are intended to reduce duplicative communications between EPA and parties
associated with a petition.
-------
B. Feedstock (No information claimed CBI)
Provide a brief statement certifying the types of feedstocks that are used in the requested pathway(s).
For example, the statement can be as simple as the following: "I certify that the only feedstocks used to
produce ethanol at [insert facility name] are corn starch and grain sorghum."
C. Production Process
Provide a brief statement certifying that the production process used to produce ethanol through the
requested pathway(s) is a dry mill ethanol production process. For more information about what
constitutes a dry mill ethanol production process, see Section 1.4.1.1 ("Dry Milling Technology") of the
February 2010 Renewable Fuel Standard Program (RFS2) Regulatory Impact Analysis (EPA-420-R-10-
006).
For example, the statement could say the following: "I certify that the requested pathways for ethanol
produced by [insert facility name] use a dry mill production process where corn starch and grain
sorghum feedstocks are ground into a coarse flour, also known as "meal"; the meal is cooked into a hot
slurry with the addition of enzymes to produce a mixture commonly known as "mash"; the mash is
fermented with the addition of yeast to produce ethanol, carbon dioxide and solids from the grain and
yeast, known as "fermented mash"; the fermented mash is distilled to produce a mixture of ethanol and
water, and a residue of non-fermentable solids, also known as "stillage"; the mixture of ethanol and
water is dehydrated to produce 200-proof ethanol; and the primary coproducts/byproducts are carbon
dioxide, distillers grains, solubles, syrup and vegetable oil."
D. Process Energy
Provide a brief statement certifying that the dry mill process for the requested pathway uses one or a
combination of the following sources for all of its process energy: electricity from the grid, natural gas,
coal, biogas or biomass. If the requested pathway uses biogas for process energy, briefly describe the
sources of the gas. Note that to qualify for the Efficient Producer petition process the biogas must be
sourced from one or a combination of the following sources: landfills, municipal wastewater treatment
facility digesters, agricultural digesters, separate municipal solid waste (MSW) digesters, or other waste
digesters. See the July 2014 RFS rule (79 FR 42128) for more information on qualifying sources of
biogas.
If the requested pathway uses biomass for process energy, briefly describe the sources of the biomass.
Note that to qualify for the Efficient Producer petition process, all biomass used as process energy must
meet the RFS regulatory definition for crop residue at § 80.1401. See the July 2014 RFS rule for more
information on what EPA considers to be a crop residue for the RFS program.
E. Coproducts
Provide a brief statement certifying that all of the distillers grains or distillers grains and solubles co-
product produced as a result of the requested pathways is intended for use as animal feed. This section
-------
should also provide a brief description of the coproducts resulting from the requested pathways and
their intended uses. For example, explain whether the facility sells wet or modified distillers grains,
produces vegetable oil coproduct through fractionation or extraction, produces any additional Co-
products, etc.
F. Mass and Energy Balance Data
A mass and energy balance should be included for every new pathway requested. This data should
detail all of the significant inputs and outputs for the biofuel production process. To help petitioners
provide the required mass and energy balance data, the Agency is providing Efficient Producer Lifecycle
GHG Calculator spreadsheets, available for download on EPA's website.3 These spreadsheet tools are
designed to automatically calculate lifecycle GHG emissions based on the mass and energy balance data
that is entered. We recommend that petitioners fill out the appropriate Efficient Producer Lifecycle
GHG Calculator spreadsheet and attach it to the petition. The spreadsheets are set up to calculate a
rolling 365-day average GHG value based on daily recorded data. However, when using these
spreadsheets to prepare your petition we recommend entering annual data as one line item.
For Efficient Producer petitions, the initial submission should include average annual mass and energy
balance data over the past year and/or projected into the future. If mass and energy balance data
provided is based on projected process improvements, provide a brief explanation (less than one page)
of the energy saving technologies and other process improvements that will (or have been) undertaken
to improve the facility's future efficiency compared to its historical performance.
The data provided should demonstrate how the requested fuel pathway will meet the applicable
lifecycle GHG emissions reduction threshold (e.g., 20% GHG reduction for renewable fuel D-code 6 RINs,
50% GHG reduction for renewable fuel D-code 5 RINs) using the methodology described below.
The lifecycle calculations should be based on the following data inputs:
a. Volume of feedstocks used in fuel production processes for all of the ethanol produced at the
facility during the applicable time period (including ethanol that does not generate RINs or is
exempt from the GHG reduction requirements per 40 CFR 80.1403).
b. All of the energy used for feedstock, fuel and co-product operations.4
c. The amount of ethanol produced by the facility.
The emissions factors used in the calculation of the lifecycle GHG emissions should be the following in
Table 2, based on EPA's lifecycle GHG analyses for previous RFS rules:5
3 See the instructions on the "Efficient Producer Petition Process" web page.
4 Energy for feedstock, fuel and co-product operations should include all energy used in any building that is used in
any part for the storage and/or processing of feedstock and all energy used in any building that is used in any part
for the production and/or storage of fuel intermediates, finished fuel or co-products. It also includes any energy
related to feedstock or waste handling.
5 These emission factors apply only to the RFS program, and do not apply to any other EPA rules or actions.
-------
Table 2: Emission factors to use in lifecycle GHG calculations
Emission Factor
Corn Upstream GHG
emissions
Grain Sorghum Upstream
GHG emissions
Natural Gas LHV
Biogas CH4 LHV
Coal LHV
Natural Gas GHG emissions
Biogas CH4 GHG emissions
Coal GHG emissions
Grid Electricity GHG
emissions
Biomass GHG emissions
Downstream (ethanol) GHG
emissions
Value
9.73
8.93
983
983
19,546,300
6.9 x 10"05
3.6 x ID'07
l.lxlO'04
7.5 x ID'01
5.4 xlQ-03
2.10
Units
kg CO2-eq./bu corn at 15.5%
moisture
kg CO2-eq./bu grain sorghum
at 13% moisture
btu/scf
btu/scf CH4
btu/ton
kg CO2-eq./btu NG LHV
kg CO2-eq./btu Biogas CH4
LHV
kg CO2-eq./btu Coal LHV
kg CO2-eq./kWh
kg CO2-eq./dry Ib
kg CO2-eq./mmBtu ethanol
Should the petition be approved, the average lifecycle GHG emissions for the renewable fuel produced
at the facility will need to be calculated and recorded over a 365 calendar day rolling average. The
Efficient Producer Lifecycle GHG Calculator spreadsheets are designed to automatically perform the
rolling 365-day GHG calculations as well.
G. Certification by the Responsible Corporate Officer
We ask that all Efficient Producer petitions include a signed statement by the responsible corporate
officer of the company (or facility) submitting the petition,6 certifying that the information provided is
For reference, a definition for responsible corporate officer is provided at 40 CFR 122.22:
(i) A president, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function,
or any other person who performs similar policy- or decision-making functions for the corporation, or
8
-------
accurate and the company understands and wishes to comply with the steps and requirements in the
Efficient Producer petition process, as explained on the EPA's website.
1. Responsible Corporate Officer
Provide contact information for the responsible corporate officer, including name, title, address, phone
number and email address.
2. Certification Statement
We ask that petitions include the following statement, with information in brackets filled as appropriate:
As [responsible corporate officer's title] of [company name], I am providing to EPA information about a
requested new fuel pathway on behalf of [company name]. I have reviewed the information provided
above, and to the best of my knowledge it is accurate and complete. I have reviewed all of the
information related to the Efficient Producer petition process available on the EPA's website and I
certify that my organization wishes to utilize this process and understand the conditions likely to be
contained in any approval document, including those related to registration, continuous monitoring and
the recordkeeping that will be designed to ensure ongoing compliance with the appropriate life cycle
greenhouse gas reduction threshold requirements associated with the approved pathway. .
H. List of Attachments
Provide a list of the attachments submitted with the petition, including a short name and brief
description (1-2 sentences) for each attachment.
(ii) the manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities, provided, the manager is
authorized to make management decisions which govern the operation of the regulated facility including having
the explicit or implicit duty of making major capital investment recommendations, and initiating and directing
other comprehensive measures to assure long term environmental compliance with environmental laws and
regulations; the manager can ensure that the necessary systems are established or actions taken to gather
complete and accurate information for permit application requirements; and where authority to sign documents
has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with corporate procedures.
-------
Appendix A: Formatting for New Fuel Pathway Petitions
Electronic file type: PDF or MS Word
Font and Section Headings:
• For the body of the document: Calibri, size 11, black color.
• First level section headings (e.g., F. Feedstock): Cambria, size 14, bold, no indent, capitalize
the first letter of each word, color = dark blue, insert page break before section heading.
• Second level section headings (e.g., 2. Information for New Feedstocks): Calibri, size
13, bold, capitalize the first letter of each word, color = blue.
• Third level section headings (e.g., vii. Alternative Uses): Calibri, size 11, indent by one tab,
capitalize the first letter of each word, color = blue.
• Fourth level section headings (e.g., d. Information for Livestock Feed): Calibri, size 11, italics,
indent by one tab, capitalize the first letter of each word, color = blue.
• Fifth level section headings (e.g., 1. Animal market share and feed ratios by region): Calibri,
size 11, normal font, indent by one tab, capitalize only the first letter of the first word, color =
dark blue.
Include a table of contents
Paper size: Standard 8.5 by 11-inch copier paper
10
-------
Appendix B: Petition Cover Sheet Template
[This page intentionally left blank]
11
-------
Date Submitted: [MM/DD/YYYY]
[Company Name]
Name of Ethanol Production Facility: [Facility Name]
Location of Ethanol Production Facility: [City, State, Country]
Fuel Pathway Requested
Fuel
Ethanol
Feedstock
Production Process
Technology
Dry mill process
RIN D-code
Requested
Primary Point of Contact
Name:
Title:
Address:
Phone Number:
Alternate Phone Number:
Email address:
Additional Contact Info (if any):
12
------- |