Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Renewable Fuel Standard Program: RFS Annual Rules

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: RFS Annual Rules (Renewal)

DATES:

Comments may be submitted on or before November 28, 2025.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through October 25, 2025. An agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on April 28, 2025 during a 60-day comment period (90 FR 17593). This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. Supporting documents, which explain in detail the information that the EPA will be collecting, are available in the public docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The telephone number for the Docket Center is 202-566-1744. For additional information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

Abstract: This ICR is for provisions regarding biointermediates in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. A "biointermediate" is produced from a renewable biomass feedstock at a biointermediate production facility and is not itself a renewable fuel; the biointermediate will be processed into a renewable fuel at a subsequent renewable fuel production facility. The biointermediate provisions were included in the EPA's finale rulemaking to establish RFS volume standards for 2020, 2021, and 2022 (87 FR 39600, July 1, 2022).

The recordkeeping and reporting requirements allow the EPA to monitor compliance from biointermediate producers, renewable identification number (RIN) generators who are renewable fuel producers who use biointermediates, biointermediate producers, and specific third parties ( e.g., quality assurance plan, or QAP, providers). This ICR is related to the general collection related to RFS, which bears OMB Control No. 2060-0725 (expiring November 30, 2025).

Form Numbers: RFS0107 (5900-631), RFS0602 (5900-290), RFS0702 (5900-289), RFS0801 (5900-293), RFS0902 (5900-278), RFS2001 (5900-633), RFS2101 (5900-634), RFS2201 (5900-635), RFS2301 (5900-636), RFS2400 (5900-361), RFS4000 (5900-529).

Respondents/affected entities: Biointermediate producers, RIN generators (renewable fuel producers), biointermediate importers, third parties (including QAP providers).

Respondent's obligation to respond: mandatory under 40 CFR parts 80 and 1090.

Estimated number of respondents: 892 (total).

Frequency of response: Quarterly, annually, on occasion.

Total estimated burden: 27,871 hours (per year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).

Total estimated cost: $2,062,900 (per year), which includes $0 annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 139,514 hours in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. This decrease is due to fewer regulated parties utilizing biointermediates in the RFS than was originally anticipated. We shared our estimates with industry respondents who perform recordkeeping and reporting functions. Based upon their feedback we increased some estimates in our calculations related to third party auditor activities performed, but those did not change the overall decrease in burden due to fewer participants.