[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 135 (Tuesday, July 15, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37897-37899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-18531]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
[Docket No. EE-WKS-97-800]


Alternative Fuel Transportation Program

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of public workshop and opportunity for public comment.

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SUMMARY: DOE announces a public workshop on its programs to promote 
petroleum replacement motor fuels. The workshop will focus on issues 
related to: (1) The development of programs to promote replacement and 
alternative fuels under Title V of EPACT and (2) a pending petition for 
rulemaking that asks DOE to modify the existing alternative fuel 
vehicle acquisition program (10 CFR part 490) by making a biodiesel 
blend known as B-20 an eligible alternative fuel. DOE also provides an 
opportunity for written comments on issues to be discussed at the 
workshop.

DATES: Written comments, ten (10) copies, must be received by DOE by 
September 15, 1997.
    Oral views, data, and suggestions may be presented at the public 
workshop which is scheduled to take place 8:30 a.m. on July 31-August 
1, 1997, at St. Louis, MO.

ADDRESSES: The public workshop will take place at the Holiday Inn 
Convention Center, 811 N. 9th Street (at Convention Plaza Drive), Salon 
A, St. Louis, Missouri. A block of hotel rooms has been reserved at the 
rate of $64.50. Please mention the Department of Energy Workshop when 
making your reservations. To assist DOE in planning for this workshop, 
please call Andi Kasarsky, (202) 586-3012, to confirm your attendance.
    Written comments should be sent to Paul McArdle, U.S. Department of 
Energy, EE-34, Docket No. EE-WKS-97-800, 1000 Independence Ave., SW, 
Washington, DC 20585.
    A copy of the petition for rulemaking is on file for public 
inspection in DOE's Freedom of Information Reading Room, Forrestal 
Building, Room 1E-190, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 
20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul McArdle, Program Manager, Office 
of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, EE-34, U.S. Department of 
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-
9171.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction and Background

    DOE has received a petition for rulemaking to amend the definition 
of ``alternative fuel'' in 10 CFR part 490 by adding a biodiesel blend 
(B-20) which is, by volume, 80 percent petroleum and 20 percent 
biological non-petroleum material. Part 490 sets forth the regulations 
that implement Title V of

[[Page 37898]]

the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT) (Pub.L. 102-486) which mandates 
alternative fuel vehicle acquisition requirements for certain 
alternative fuel providers and State government fleets. Title V of 
EPACT provides for one of a variety of EPACT programs to promote fuels 
that displace petroleum motor fuels, and the petition for rulemaking 
has prompted DOE to focus on a variety of policy issues about the 
development and interrelationships of these programs. The public 
workshop and the opportunity for public comment announced in this 
notice are intended to elicit public input that would be useful 
generally in elaborating the EPACT replacement fuel programs and 
specifically in determining whether to propose the rule the petitioner 
requests.
    Titles III, IV, V, and VI of EPACT authorize a variety of general 
and specific program authorities to promote any ``replacement fuel'' 
that displaces a substantial portion of petroleum as a component of 
motor fuel. Section 301(14) of EPACT defines the term ``replacement 
fuel'' as ``the portion of any motor fuel'' that is any one of a list 
of specific fuels including ``fuels (other than alcohol) derived from 
biological materials.'' 42 U.S.C. 13211(14). As discussed above, B-20, 
the fuel that is the subject of the petition for rulemaking, is a motor 
fuel 20 percent of which is derived from biological materials. That 20 
percent thus appears to be a ``replacement fuel'' within the meaning of 
section 301(14).
    Section 502 of the Act provides general authority to establish a 
program to promote the development and use of replacement fuels in 
light duty motor vehicles. 42 U.S.C. 13252. However, section 502 leaves 
to DOE, in consultation with other agencies, the task of determining 
the appropriate programmatic means and methods to achieve the program 
objectives which may require further legislation or appropriations. 
Although the petition for rulemaking does not deal with possible 
programs under section 502, one of DOE's purposes in holding a workshop 
is to explore how replacement fuels should be promoted under section 
502.
    In addition to the general authority in section 502, EPACT contains 
specific authorities with respect to ``alternative fuels.'' Title III 
of EPACT requires Federal fleet acquisitions of alternative fueled 
vehicles; Title IV includes specific authority for a financial 
incentive program for States, a public information program, and a 
program for certifying alternative fuel technician training programs; 
Title V provides for separate regulatory mandates for the purchase of 
alternative fueled vehicles which apply to certain alternative fuel 
providers and State government fleets and for a possible similar 
mandate for private and municipal fleets; and Title VI provides for a 
program to promote electric motor vehicles.
    The types of vehicles that satisfy the mandates in Title III and 
Title V are determined in part by the definition of ``alternative 
fuel'' in section 301(2). That definition provides:

``alternative fuel means methanol, denatured ethanol, and other 
alcohols; mixtures containing 85 percent or more (or such other 
percentage, but not less than 70 percent, as determined by the 
Secretary, by rule, to provide for requirements relating to cold 
start, safety, or vehicle functions) by volume of methanol, 
denatured alcohol, and other alcohols with gasoline or other fuels; 
natural gas; fuels (other than alcohol) derived from biological 
materials; electricity (including electricity from solar energy); 
and any other fuel the Secretary determines, by rule, is 
substantially not petroleum, and would yield substantial energy 
security benefits and substantial environmental benefits.'' 42 
U.S.C. 13211(2).

In contrast to the definition of ``replacement fuel,'' which is the 
non-petroleum component of a motor fuel, this definition focuses on the 
entire content of the fuel. It is possible, therefore, that a given 
fuel could contain a component that is a ``replacement fuel'' but the 
whole fuel is not an ``alternative fuel.''
    In the rulemaking to establish the policies applicable to the Title 
V regulatory mandates, DOE considered and then declined to propose a 
rule to add reformulated gasoline to the list of alternative fuels in 
section 301(2). The rationale for this conclusion was that the 
percentage of reformulated gasoline constituting petroleum was too 
large to warrant a determination that the entire fuel is 
``substantially not petroleum.'' According to one commenter, 
reformulated gasoline could be as much as 17 percent non-petroleum and 
83 percent petroleum. 61 FR 10622, 10630 (March 14, 1996).
    In arguing for inclusion of B-20 in the definition of ``alternative 
fuel,'' the petition for rulemaking addresses the general criteria for 
adding to the list of ``alternative fuels.'' The petition argues that 
B-20 is substantially not petroleum and would yield substantial energy 
security benefits and substantial environmental benefits. DOE has 
placed a copy of the petition in its Freedom of Information Reading 
Room for public inspection. Issues raised by the petitioners account 
for some of the issues listed in the draft issue agenda for the 
workshop that is set forth below. DOE intends to proceed rapidly after 
the workshop toward issuing a written decision granting or denying the 
petition after considering relevant information and views that are 
provided in the workshop or in written comments. The agenda also will 
include issues that go beyond the scope of the pending petition for 
rulemaking, such as appropriate replacement fuel programs.

II. Conduct of the Workshop

    The workshop will be conducted by an experienced facilitator in an 
informal, conference style. The draft agenda described below is subject 
to modification to ensure that those who attend will have an adequate 
opportunity to raise issues, offer information, state their views, and 
interact with other attendees. With respect to some of the issues, the 
facilitator may ask DOE program staff to make short introductory 
presentations to provide a useful context for discussion. A transcript 
of the workshop proceedings will be prepared. There will be no 
discussion of proprietary information, costs or prices, or other 
commercial matters regulated by antitrust law.

III. Preliminary Draft Issue Agenda

A. Replacement Fuel Programs

     What are the most suitable means and methods of developing 
and encouraging the production, distribution, and use of replacement 
fuels?

B. Criteria for Designating ``Alternative Fuels'

1. Substantially Not Petroleum
     Is it appropriate to set a threshold level of non-
petroleum content that would warrant a proposed rule to include the 
fuel in the list of ``alternative fuels?'
     How should DOE define a threshold level of non-petroleum 
content that would warrant a proposed rule to include the fuel on the 
list of ``alternative fuels?''
     What are the permissible interpretations of the statutory 
term ``substantially not petroleum?'
2. Substantial Energy Security Benefits
     Should DOE request a detailed analysis showing how the 
final energy balance reflecting the amounts and types of energy 
consumed in production, distribution, and use of a candidate fuel 
compares to the equivalent path for petroleum production, distribution 
and use?
     What other factors, such as diversification of resources, 
location of production outside of the United States,

[[Page 37899]]

use of renewable energy sources, and ability to increase production 
quickly, should be considered?
3. Substantial Environmental Benefits
     Should DOE request that petitioners identify the physical 
and chemical properties of the candidate fuel such as specific gravity, 
initial boiling point, flash point, and vapor pressure at 100 degrees 
Fahrenheit?
     Should petitioners be required to identify environmental 
detriments and to show that they are either insignificant or outweighed 
substantially by environmental benefits?
     Should the environmental analysis focus on the total fuel 
cycle, including production, distribution, and use of the candidate 
fuel?
     Should petitioners be required to show that alternative 
fueled vehicles operating on the fuel meet Federal Tier I emissions 
standards and to submit emissions data including exhaust emissions and 
evaporative emissions for all fuels with Reid vapor pressures of 7.0 
psi or greater to be used in spark-ignited engines?
     How should information on greenhouse gas emissions be 
presented?
4. Other Considerations
     Would it be permissible and appropriate to condition 
designation as an ``alternative fuel'' on a requirement that DOE would 
only give credit to a newly acquired vehicle that actually uses the new 
``alternative fuel?'

    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 10, 1997.
Joseph J. Romm,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 97-18531 Filed 7-14-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P