The Clean Air Act explicitly prohibits the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from increasing the biomass-based diesel mandate for the 2014 compliance year, wrote American Petroleum Institute Downstream Group Director Bob Greco in a letter sent Friday to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.
“The Clean Air Act expressly compels EPA to provide a 14-month lead time when modifying the mandate,” Greco wrote. “Pursuant to the Clean Air Act’s unambiguous language, EPA was required to have finalized any increase to the 2014 biomass-based diesel mandate by October 31, 2012. Furthermore, political gamesmanship has delayed the 2014 requirements, and as a result EPA’s authority to increase the 2016 biomass-based diesel standard is soon to pass.”
Greco said the administration is considering an increase to the biomass-based diesel standard for the 2014 compliance year for political reasons, even though most of the year has already passed.
“Congress establishes statutory deadlines for a reason,” he said. “They provide certainty to the regulated industries. Here, Congress recognized the fundamental difference in setting the biomass-based diesel standard and the other biofuel standards by providing the 14-month lead time to give obligated parties sufficient notice to make the necessary operational, logistical, and investment decisions to meet any increase in the biomass-based diesel standard.
“Because this deadline has passed by almost two years, the Clean Air Act prohibits EPA from increasing the biomass-based diesel requirement from the 2013 biomass-based diesel standard of 1.28 billion gallons.”
