Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Renewable Fuel Standard ...

Thus obligated parties could acquire RINs directly through the purchase of
renewable fuel with assigned RINs, or through the open market for RINs that would be
allowed under this proposal. Section III.E provides more details on how our proposed
RIN trading program would work.
7. How Would The Program Be Enforced?
As in all EPA fuel regulations, there would be a system of registration,
recordkeeping, and reporting requirements for obligated parties, renewable producers
(RIN generators), as well as any parties that procure or trade RINs either as part of their
renewable purchases or separately. In most cases, the recordkeeping requirements are not
expected to be significantly different from what these parties might be doing already as a
part of normal business practices. The lynch pin to the compliance program, however, is
the unique RIN number itself coupled with an electronic reporting system where RIN
generation, RIN use, and RIN transactions would be reported and verified. Thus, EPA,
as well as industry could have confidence that invalid RINs are not generated and that
there is no double counting.
C. Voluntary Labeling Program
EPA is considering whether voluntary program options to encourage adoption and
use of practices that minimize environmental concerns which may arise with the
production of renewable fuels are appropriate. Renewable fuels present a number of
environmental advantages as explained elsewhere in the rulemaking package. However,
to assure maximum advantage we also need to acknowledge the potential adverse
environmental impacts that could arise from the production of renewable fuel and invite
consideration of ways of offsetting these potential adverse impacts.
While in other areas of this document we focus on general impacts on air
emissions, we also recognize that individual farming and fuel production operations can
contribute to air and water pollution if appropriate practices and/or controls are not
adopted. Increased production of renewable fuel may result in more intensive use of crop
lands and perhaps the addition of crop land acres to meet the expanding need for
renewable feed stocks. Such trends could have an adverse impact on, for example, local
water quality. Similarly in the case of fuel production facilities, a range of design and
operation options could result in varying levels of energy use and air and water pollution.
EPA is considering what voluntary program(s) can be put into place that would
encourage farming and fuel production practices to minimize concerns that expanded
production of renewable fuel in the United States is likely to result in adverse
environmental impacts such as those identified above.
One option could be a voluntary labeling program which would make use of the
RIN program proposed in this rulemaking. Under this concept, fuel producers which use
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