Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: Alternative RIN Retirement Schedule for Small Refineries (Proposed Rule)
New collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)
No
Regular
Comment filed on proposed rule
09/20/2022
06/14/2022
OMB files this comment in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.11(c). This OMB action is not an approval to conduct or sponsor an information collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This action has no effect on any current approvals. If OMB has assigned this ICR a new OMB Control Number, the OMB Control Number will not appear in the active inventory. For future submissions of this information collection, reference the OMB Control Number provided. In accordance with 5 CFR 1320, OMB is withholding approval at this time. Prior to publication of the final rule, the agency must submit to OMB a summary of all comments related to the information collection contained in the proposed rule and the agency response. The agency should clearly indicate any changes made to the information collection as a result of these comments.
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This ICR covers a notification and associated recordkeeping provisions in a proposed rule for an alternative renewable identification number (RIN) retirement schedule for obligated parties that own/operate refineries that meet the definition of a small refinery under 40 CFR 80.1441(e)(2)(iii) (small refineries) under the RFS program for the 2020 compliance year. There are no other information collections proposed with this action.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing an alternative RIN retirement schedule for small refineries under the RFS program for the 2020 compliance year. To provide small refineries with more time to comply with their 2020 RFS obligations (including any RIN deficits from 2019 carried forward into the 2020 compliance year), EPA is proposing a quarterly RIN retirement schedule by which a small refinery must comply with certain percentages of its 2020 RFS obligations. EPA is proposing this action because small refineries need more time to plan for compliance with their RFS obligations given EPAs delay in deciding small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions and setting the associated compliance deadlines. The information to be collected is necessary to implement the proposed alternative RIN retirement schedule for small refineries. As part of this proposal, a small refinery would submit a notification to EPA indicating that the small refinery intends to use the alternative RIN retirement schedule and maintain records related to the determination and retirement of RINs under the alternative RIN retirement schedule.
This information collection request is related to the following approved information collection requests for the RFS program: 2060-0723 (expiring 11/30/2022), 2060-0725 (expiring 08/31/2022) and 2060-0728 (expiring 12/31/2023). EPA recently published a Federal Register notice on February 11, 2022 (87 FR 8013) to renew these existing collections together under the single control number of 2060-0725.
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.