The EPA has, for the third time, extended the Renewable Fuel Standard Compliance deadline due to the agencies failure to issue a final rule for 2014. The proposed standard, which, among other things, sets requirements for the percentage of ethanol that must be used by petroleum refiners as they blend their product, had to be extended to prevent a regulatory gap while the 2014 standard was being developed. The EPA has not stated when they anticipate getting the 2014 rule to White House, Office of Management and Budget for review, or when the EPA expects to propose a standard for… Read more
Tag: petroleum
EPA Proposes Alternative Approach for Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting for 24 Industries
On September 3, the EPA released a proposed rule which would require the use of an electronic verification tool by companies in 24 industry classifications to report emissions of greenhouse gas. The purpose of the proposed rule is to allow those industries to protect sensitive information that it considers confidential business information. The tool will be used to verify any inputs into emissions equations data that are deemed as sensitive business information without disclosing that data to the public. Companies require the new tool to begin reporting their emissions inputs data beginning March 31, 2015. EPA’s proposed rule would apply… Read more
EPA Issues Proposed Guidance for Vapor Intrusion at Cleanup Sites
On April 16, EPA issued a revised proposed guidance for assessing and mitigating vapor intrusion risks from chlorinated solvents and petroleum at cleanup sites. The proposed guidance documents revise earlier versions from last year. The current versions eliminate language from the chlorinated solvents guidance for calculating limits to protect against health hazards from short-term exposure. Instead, EPA is working to separately develop a strategy for addressing short term exposure to chlorinated solvent vapors. The proposed petroleum guidance reduces the separation distance from light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) contamination to occupied buildings from 30 feet to 15 feet, which likely will… Read more
EPA to Issue Guidance on Petroleum Vapor Intrusion
The EPA has announced that it will issue guidance addressing petroleum vapor intrusion by late 2012. According to the EPA, petroleum contaminants biodegrade into non-toxic products like carbon dioxide and water through natural microbial activity as they near the surface, thereby reducing the risk of vapor intrusion from petroleum sources. The final guidance is expected to take into account the biodegradation of petroleum compounds, and to treat petroleum contamination less strictly than other sources of contamination where vapor intrusion is more likely. In an EPA released information paper dated March, 2012, the EPA stated “by quickly identifying cases where biodegradation… Read more