Title
Urging President Obama and the United States Congress to require the United States Department of Environmental Protection to change the "obligated party" mechanism in the Renewable Fuel Standard program, from refiners and importers of gasoline and diesel to the companies who blend renewable fuels in order to avoid adverse economic impacts caused by the Renewable Identification Numbers compliance mechanism.
Body
WHEREAS, The Renewable Fuel Standard ("RFS") program was promulgated by Congress under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and was later amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to expand the nation's renewable fuels sector while reducing reliance on imported oil; and
WHEREAS, Congress included a statutory annual volume requirement of the amount of renewable fuels that must be blended into gasoline and diesel (See 42 U.S.C. §7545, et seq.); and
WHEREAS, The City Council agrees with the goals of the statute and the expansion of renewable fuel use in the United States; and
WHEREAS, The Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") regulations established a compliance method for achieving the annual volume requirements under the statute which requires that each gallon of renewable fuel is assigned a unique identification number that is separated and delivered to EPA once the renewable fuel is blended with gasoline or diesel fuel to demonstrate compliance with the RFS (See 42 U.S.C. § 7545(o)(3)(B)(ii)(I); 40 C.F.R. § 80.1405, et seq.); and
WHEREAS, EPA's regulations place the obligation for collecting and retiring the renewable fuel identification numbers on refiners and importers of gasoline and diesel fuel; and
WHEREAS, The entities that physically control and own the gasoline and diesel fuel at the point of blending (typically a bulk terminal facility or a truck loading terminal known as a "rack") effectively control the blending of the renewable fuels into gasoline and diesel and, through the Renewable Identification ...
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