[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14007-14009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6033]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0199; FRL-9280-6]


Notice of Receipt of Petition From the Government of Canada for 
Application of the Renewable Fuel Standard Aggregate Compliance 
Approach

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA is issuing notice of receipt of a petition for EPA to 
authorize the use of an aggregate approach for compliance with the 
Renewable Fuel Standard renewable biomass provisions. This petition was 
submitted by the Government of Canada. The petition requests that EPA 
determine that an aggregate compliance approach will provide reasonable 
assurance that

[[Page 14008]]

planted crops and crop residue from Canada meet the definition of 
renewable biomass. EPA has previously determined that the aggregate 
compliance approach is applicable in the United States. If the petition 
is approved, crops and crop residue from Canada would not be subject to 
individual recordkeeping and reporting requirements. This determination 
could change if EPA later determined, through its annual evaluation of 
the aggregate compliance approach, that the number of acres of 
agricultural land in Canada exceeded a baseline number of acres 
determined to be available under the Act for the production of crops 
and crop residue meeting the definition of renewable biomass. In this 
notice, EPA is soliciting comment on all aspects of the petition.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 16, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2011-0199, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: (202)566-1741.
     Mail: Air and Radiation Docket, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 
20460. Please include a total of two copies.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, Public Reading Room, EPA 
West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20460. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal 
hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2011-0199. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an 
``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: The complete petition and all supporting materials are 
available for public review in the docket. All documents in the docket 
are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in 
the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or 
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain 
other material, such as copyrighted material, will be publicly 
available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are 
available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in 
hard copy at the Air and Radiation Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 
1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is 
open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is 
(202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air and Radiation 
Docket is (202) 566-1741.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Meg McCarthy, Office of Transportation 
and Air Quality, Mailcode: 6406J, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 
(202)343-9968; fax number: (202)343-2802; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

(A) Request for Comments

    On January 31, 2011, the Government of Canada submitted a petition 
to the Administrator pursuant to 40 CFR 80.1457 requesting approval of 
an aggregate approach for compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard 
renewable biomass provisions for planted crops and crop residue from 
Canada. This petition has been placed in the public docket.
    The petition requests that EPA determine that an aggregate 
compliance approach will provide reasonable assurance that planted 
crops and crop residue from Canada meet the definition of renewable 
biomass and will continue to meet the definition of renewable biomass, 
and thus will not be subject to individual recordkeeping and reporting 
requirements unless EPA determines through an annual evaluation that 
more acres are planted to crops and crop residue than are permissible 
consistent with the definition of renewable biomass. EPA solicits 
comments and information to assist the Administrator in making a 
determination concerning the petition.

(B) Background on the Petition Process

    Pursuant to 40 CFR 80.1457, EPA may approve a petition for 
application of the aggregate compliance approach in a foreign country 
if it finds that such an approach will provide reasonable assurance 
that planted crops and crop residue from the petitioning country meet 
the definition of renewable biomass, and will continue to meet the 
definition of renewable biomass, as demonstrated through the submission 
of credible, reliable, and verifiable data. As part of its evaluation 
of the petition, EPA will consider several factors, including:
     Whether there has been a reasonable identification of the 
``2007 baseline area of land,'' defined as the total amount of 
cropland, pastureland, and land that is equivalent to U.S. Conservation 
Reserve Program land in the country in question that was actively 
managed or fallow and nonforested on December 19, 2007, taking into 
account the definitions of terms such as ``cropland,'' ``pastureland,'' 
``planted crop,'' and ``crop residue'' included in the final RFS2 
regulations.
     Whether information on the total amount of cropland, 
pastureland, and land that is equivalent to U.S. Conservation Reserve 
Program land in the country in question for years preceding and 
following calendar year 2007 shows that the 2007 baseline area of land 
is not likely to be exceeded in the future.
     Whether economic considerations, legal constraints, 
historical land use and agricultural practices and other factors show 
that it is likely that producers of planted crops and crop residue will 
continue to use agricultural land within the 2007 baseline area of land 
identified into the future, as opposed to clearing and cultivating land 
not included in the 2007 baseline area of land.
     Whether there is a reliable method to evaluate, on an 
annual basis, if the

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2007 baseline area of land is being or has been exceeded.
     Whether a credible and reliable entity has been identified 
to conduct data gathering and analysis, including annual identification 
of the aggregate amount of cropland, pastureland, and land that is 
equivalent to U.S. Conservation Reserve Program land, that is needed 
for an annual EPA evaluation of the aggregate compliance approach, and 
whether the data, analyses, and methodologies are publicly available.
     Whether the petition submission requirements specified in 
40 CFR 80.1457(b) have been satisfied, including the submission of a 
letter signed by a national government representative at the 
ministerial level or equivalent confirming that the petition and all 
supporting data have been reviewed and verified by the ministry (or 
ministries) or department(s) of the national government with primary 
expertise in agricultural land use patterns, practices, data, and 
statistics of the country in question, that the data support a finding 
that planted crops and crop residue from the specified country meet the 
definition of renewable biomass and will continue to meet the 
definition of renewable biomass, and that the responsible national 
government ministry (or ministries) or department(s) will review and 
verify the data submitted on an annual basis to facilitate EPA's annual 
assessment of the 2007 baseline area of land.
    The public is specifically invited to comment on these factors, 
whether Canada has met all submission requirements specified in the 
regulations, and on any other issue that could inform EPA's evaluation 
of the petition.

    Dated: March 10, 2011.
Margo Tsirigotis Oge,
Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Office of Air and 
Radiation.
[FR Doc. 2011-6033 Filed 3-14-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P