[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14007-14009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6033]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0199; FRL-9280-6]
Notice of Receipt of Petition From the Government of Canada for
Application of the Renewable Fuel Standard Aggregate Compliance
Approach
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: EPA is issuing notice of receipt of a petition for EPA to
authorize the use of an aggregate approach for compliance with the
Renewable Fuel Standard renewable biomass provisions. This petition was
submitted by the Government of Canada. The petition requests that EPA
determine that an aggregate compliance approach will provide reasonable
assurance that
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planted crops and crop residue from Canada meet the definition of
renewable biomass. EPA has previously determined that the aggregate
compliance approach is applicable in the United States. If the petition
is approved, crops and crop residue from Canada would not be subject to
individual recordkeeping and reporting requirements. This determination
could change if EPA later determined, through its annual evaluation of
the aggregate compliance approach, that the number of acres of
agricultural land in Canada exceeded a baseline number of acres
determined to be available under the Act for the production of crops
and crop residue meeting the definition of renewable biomass. In this
notice, EPA is soliciting comment on all aspects of the petition.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 16, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2011-0199, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected].
Fax: (202)566-1741.
Mail: Air and Radiation Docket, Environmental Protection
Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC
20460. Please include a total of two copies.
Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, Public Reading Room, EPA
West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20460. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal
hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2011-0199. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an
``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without
going through http://www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: The complete petition and all supporting materials are
available for public review in the docket. All documents in the docket
are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in
the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain
other material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly
available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are
available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in
hard copy at the Air and Radiation Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334,
1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is
open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is
(202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air and Radiation
Docket is (202) 566-1741.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Meg McCarthy, Office of Transportation
and Air Quality, Mailcode: 6406J, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number:
(202)343-9968; fax number: (202)343-2802; e-mail address:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
(A) Request for Comments
On January 31, 2011, the Government of Canada submitted a petition
to the Administrator pursuant to 40 CFR 80.1457 requesting approval of
an aggregate approach for compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard
renewable biomass provisions for planted crops and crop residue from
Canada. This petition has been placed in the public docket.
The petition requests that EPA determine that an aggregate
compliance approach will provide reasonable assurance that planted
crops and crop residue from Canada meet the definition of renewable
biomass and will continue to meet the definition of renewable biomass,
and thus will not be subject to individual recordkeeping and reporting
requirements unless EPA determines through an annual evaluation that
more acres are planted to crops and crop residue than are permissible
consistent with the definition of renewable biomass. EPA solicits
comments and information to assist the Administrator in making a
determination concerning the petition.
(B) Background on the Petition Process
Pursuant to 40 CFR 80.1457, EPA may approve a petition for
application of the aggregate compliance approach in a foreign country
if it finds that such an approach will provide reasonable assurance
that planted crops and crop residue from the petitioning country meet
the definition of renewable biomass, and will continue to meet the
definition of renewable biomass, as demonstrated through the submission
of credible, reliable, and verifiable data. As part of its evaluation
of the petition, EPA will consider several factors, including:
Whether there has been a reasonable identification of the
``2007 baseline area of land,'' defined as the total amount of
cropland, pastureland, and land that is equivalent to U.S. Conservation
Reserve Program land in the country in question that was actively
managed or fallow and nonforested on December 19, 2007, taking into
account the definitions of terms such as ``cropland,'' ``pastureland,''
``planted crop,'' and ``crop residue'' included in the final RFS2
regulations.
Whether information on the total amount of cropland,
pastureland, and land that is equivalent to U.S. Conservation Reserve
Program land in the country in question for years preceding and
following calendar year 2007 shows that the 2007 baseline area of land
is not likely to be exceeded in the future.
Whether economic considerations, legal constraints,
historical land use and agricultural practices and other factors show
that it is likely that producers of planted crops and crop residue will
continue to use agricultural land within the 2007 baseline area of land
identified into the future, as opposed to clearing and cultivating land
not included in the 2007 baseline area of land.
Whether there is a reliable method to evaluate, on an
annual basis, if the
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2007 baseline area of land is being or has been exceeded.
Whether a credible and reliable entity has been identified
to conduct data gathering and analysis, including annual identification
of the aggregate amount of cropland, pastureland, and land that is
equivalent to U.S. Conservation Reserve Program land, that is needed
for an annual EPA evaluation of the aggregate compliance approach, and
whether the data, analyses, and methodologies are publicly available.
Whether the petition submission requirements specified in
40 CFR 80.1457(b) have been satisfied, including the submission of a
letter signed by a national government representative at the
ministerial level or equivalent confirming that the petition and all
supporting data have been reviewed and verified by the ministry (or
ministries) or department(s) of the national government with primary
expertise in agricultural land use patterns, practices, data, and
statistics of the country in question, that the data support a finding
that planted crops and crop residue from the specified country meet the
definition of renewable biomass and will continue to meet the
definition of renewable biomass, and that the responsible national
government ministry (or ministries) or department(s) will review and
verify the data submitted on an annual basis to facilitate EPA's annual
assessment of the 2007 baseline area of land.
The public is specifically invited to comment on these factors,
whether Canada has met all submission requirements specified in the
regulations, and on any other issue that could inform EPA's evaluation
of the petition.
Dated: March 10, 2011.
Margo Tsirigotis Oge,
Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Office of Air and
Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2011-6033 Filed 3-14-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P