U.S. Legislative Issues

On August 2, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its ruling on the Hours of Service litigation brought by the American Trucking Associations and Public Citizen. The Court upheld the 2011 Hours of Service regulations in all aspects except for the 30-minute break provision as it applies to short haul drivers. Subsequently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced the Agency will immediately cease enforcement of the 30-minute rest break provision of the HOS rule against short-haul operations.

Specifically, the following drivers would not be subject to the 30-minute break requirement:

• All drivers (CDL and non-CDL) that operate within 100 air-miles of their normal work reporting location and satisfy the time limitations and recordkeeping requirements
• Non-CDL drivers that operate within a 150 air-mile radius of the location where the driver reports for duty and satisfy the time limitations and recordkeeping requirements

 

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EPA Finalizes 2013 Renewable Fuel Standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized the 2013 percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program established by Congress. Most of these fuels are produced by American farmers and growers domestically and help reduce the carbon pollution that contributes to climate change.

The final 2013 overall volumes and standards require 16.55 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be blended into the U.S. fuel supply (a 9.74 percent blend). This standard specifically requires:

• Biomass-based diesel (1.28 billion gallons; 1.13 percent)
• Advanced biofuels (2.75 billion gallons; 1.62 percent)
• Cellulosic biofuels (6.00 million gallons; 0.004 percent)

These standards reflect EPA’s updated production projections, which are informed by extensive engagement with industry and a thorough assessment of the biofuels market.   

During this rulemaking, EPA received comments from a number of stakeholders concerning the "E10 blend wall." Projected to occur in 2014, the "E10 blend wall" refers to the difficulty in incorporating ethanol into the fuel supply at volumes exceeding those achieved by the sale of nearly all gasoline as E10. Most gasoline sold in the U.S. today is E10. In the rule, EPA is announcing that it will propose to use flexibilities in the RFS statute to reduce both the advanced biofuel and total renewable volumes in the forthcoming 2014 RFS volume requirement proposal.

EPA is also providing greater lead time and flexibility in complying with the 2013 volume requirements by extending the deadline to comply with the 2013 standards by four months, to June 30, 2014.

A January 2013 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals required the agency to reevaluate projections for cellulosic biofuel to reflect market conditions. The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) established the RFS program and the annual renewable fuel volume targets, which steadily increase to an overall level of 36 billion gallons in 2022. To achieve these volumes, EPA calculates a percentage-based standard for the following year. Based on the standard, each refiner and importer determines the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must ensure is used in its transportation fuel.

More information on the standards and regulations: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/regulations.htm

More information on renewable fuels: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/index.htm

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the final 2013 volume mandates for renewable fuels known as the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). In response, U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), the senior Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, made the following statement: "The premise and structure of the RFS were based on many assumptions that aren't realistic with current market conditions," Vitter said. "The EPA has finally realized that there is a major problem with the RFS - the ethanol blend wall - but punted on fixing the problem this year. A combination of the recession and the 2011 fuel economy standards has lowered the demand for gasoline in the U.S. The combination of rising ethanol mandates and declining gasoline consumption has exacerbated the point at which the gasoline supply is saturated with the maximum amount of ethanol that current vehicles, engines, and infrastructure can safely accommodate. This is exactly why the Administration needs to use its authority to waive the 2014 volumes."

The ethanol blendwall - the limit on the amount of ethanol that may be blended into the gasoline supply - has become an issue. This year the U.S. will consume approximately 133 billion gallons of gasoline. At 10 percent of gasoline demand, the blendwall occurs at 13.3 billion gallons even as the corn ethanol mandate rises from 13.8 billion gallons in 2013 to 14.4 billion. EPA’s decision, however,  does not address the E10 blendwall.

Recognizing that EPA may decide to stay the course for 2013,  U.S. Sens. Vitter, Mark Pryor (D-AK), and James Inhofe (R-OK) sent a letter to President Obama asking for the Administration to waive the 2014 volumes below 10 percent while Congress examines long-term policy solutions for the outdated and increasingly burdensome RFS.


The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuels and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) jointly petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on  Aug. 13 requesting that the agency waive all applicable fuel production volumes for the 2014 renewable fuel standard (RFS) in response to the impending "blend wall" crisis.

The petition asks EPA to waive next year's requirements for cellulosic biofuels, advanced biofuels, and conventional biofuels under the RFS "to avoid the inevitable severe economic harm" of breaching the blend wall -- the limit on ethanol that can be safely blended into the fuel supply -- which the groups warn will drive up fuel prices and hurt the economy as a whole.

"[T]he maximum amount of ethanol that can be blended into the gasoline supply at levels that are safe, effective, and practical given the existing vehicle fleet and distribution systems, is 13.28 billion gallons (i.e., 10 percent ethanol levels, or E10)," the petition reads. "To avoid severe economic harm resulting from a breach of the E10 blendwall, the total renewable fuel volume must be reduced by 3.35 billion gallons -- from 18.15 billion gallons to 14.8 billion gallons. This number represents the total amount of ethanol, drop-in cellulosic gasoline, cellulosic diesel, and biomass-based diesel that can be safely blended into U.S. transportation fuels in 2014."


The Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO)’s Alternative Fuels Workgroup Tanks Subcommittee issued a UST biofuels compatibility report to serve as a resource for state UST agencies, UST owners and operators, and contractors to evaluate equipment compatibility under EPA’s compatibility requirement when storing biofuels. The workgroup developed a template for the Compatibility Evaluation Checklist designed to ensure all UST components are evaluated properly for compatibility. The report also lists recommendations for state tank programs and UST owners and operators, which could serve as a model for addressing concerns about accelerated corrosion of UST equipment with E10 and E10 plus blends. There are 22 case summaries in the report that highlight fuel and equipment material computability observations showing consequences of incompatibility. A copy of the report is available by clicking here.


The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has announced a proposal to eliminate a burdensome daily paperwork requirement for CDL drivers.
 
Current federal regulations require commercial truck drivers to conduct pre- and post-trip equipment inspections and file Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports (DVIRs) after each inspection, regardless of whether or not an issue requiring repairs is identified. Under the proposed change, commercial truck drivers would continue conducting pre- and post-trip inspections. However, DVIRs would be required only if defects or deficiencies were discovered by or reported to the driver during the day’s operations.