In accordance with 5 CFR 1320, the information collection is approved for three years. The agency is reminded that it should have in place an internal planning process so such that the submission of non-emergency extension requests are made sufficiently prior to expiration dates to allow for a 60-day period of OMB review. In addition, the agency should ensure that all form revisions have been completed prior to submitting for OMB review.
table that charts list comparision
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
10/31/2017
36 Months From Approved
10/31/2014
2,707,031
0
4,525,626
608,220
0
1,421,133
0
0
0
The Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005 amended the Clean Air Act, section 211(o), and required the initial RFS program, referred to in this supporting statement as "RFS1". The RFS1 program started in 2006 and was covered by EPA ICR No. 2242.02, OMB Control Number 2060-0600. Please refer to "Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Renewable Fuel Standard Program - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" and "Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Renewable Fuel Standard Program - Final Rule" (both available in docket number EPA-HQ-OAR-2005-0161) for a detailed discussion of the RFS1 program.
The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 further amended the Clean Air Act, section 211(o), and required EPA to propose new regulations for renewable fuels. The current RFS program is referred to in this supporting statement as "RFS2." Under RFS2, the volume requirement and types of renewable fuels are expanded; non-road uses are included (RFS1 only affected motor vehicle fuel); there are additional types of waivers and special provisions for renewable fuel types; and EPA has implemented an EPA-Moderating Transaction System (EMTS) for RINs. Additional parties are required to register, keep records, and report. Please refer to the Final Rule (available in docket number EPA-HQ-OAR-2005-0161) for a detailed discussion of the RFS2 program.
For compliance purposes, under both RFS1 and RFS2, volumes of renewable fuel are identified through the use of renewable identification numbers (RINs) that are initially generated by the producer of the renewable fuel. However, under RFS2, there are additional types of RINs and the volume of RINs traded is greater.
At the onset of the RFS2 program, EMTS for RINs were not a feature of RFS1. For the new EMTS system, all parties who owned RINs were required to re-submit their application, disclose feedstock sources, prepare quarterly reports on RIN activity and submit annual compliance reports (obligated party only). Re-submittal provisions are no longer required which will cause a decrease in total responses for this ICR. EMTS users will not be burdened to submit more reports in this information collection, unlike the previous. The total responses for industry dropped from 4,525,625 to 2,092,731 a difference of 2,432,894, now that the final rule is no longer requiring re-submissions or quarterly reports for certain party members. To date, biofuels producers and importers are required to submit quarterly reports along with their third party disclosure on feedstock producers to EPA. All users of the EMTS system are required to submit quarterly RIN reports.
The number of respondents or users of the EMTS system has more than doubled from 1,059,326 to 2,092,731 an increase of 1,639,992, caused by the additional response burden for mapping foreign and domestic plantation/forest land owners and foreign biofuels feedstock producers which was not reflected in the previous ICR reporting period. With an increase of respondents, total burden hours have decreased from 1,421,133 to 608,220 hours, decreasing the cost to the industry from $108,341,989 to $69,337,137, a reduction of $39,004,852. The reduction in the total cost for this renewal is due to the fact that the EMTS system's automation structure helps users to prepare reports instantly, lessening the amount of time and cost needed to respond, even with more than a million added users. This notable factor decreased both the industry burden hours and the total cost of this information collection request if renewed.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Quarterly RIN Reports