U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Information Collection Request
This Information Collection Request (ICR) is a proposed extension. The collection is currently approved through October 31. 2025. This ICR applies to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) regulations and is related to biointermediates.
Supporting Statement A
Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection.
Sections 114 and 208 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 7414 and 7542, authorize EPA to require recordkeeping and reporting regarding enforcement of the provisions of Title II of the CAA. The recordkeeping and reporting requirements of this regulation will allow EPA to monitor compliance under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. The relevant regulations are in 40 CFR parts 80 and 1090.
Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.
Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.
This ICR is for provisions regarding biointermediates in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. A “biointermediate” is produced from renewable biomass 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. EPA published a final rule entitled “Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: RFS Annual Rules” in the Federal Register on July 1, 2022 (87 FR 39600).
RFS is a program that relies upon marketable credits (RINs) to function, which necessitates recordkeeping and reporting to establish type and number of RINs generated, sold, retired, etc. EPA provides the secure trading platform in which RIN transactions occur (EMTS), which removes a burden from industry. EPA uses the information to monitor compliance with RFS and to ensure the integrity of the RIN market.
Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.
If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.
This collection would not adversely affect small entities and may benefit small entities who are either biointermediate producers and/or renewable fuel producers.
Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.
We have designed the reporting schedule to coincide with existing RFS reporting deadlines applicable to all parties regulated under the RFS program. Compliance reporting is typically quarterly or annual. Reporting of transactions within EMTS are done on-occasion and as needed, when a respondent engages in a RIN transaction. The EMTS system is provided by EPA for registered respondents to use as a reliable method of engaging in transactions. Initial registration and setting up initial system access typically are a one-time event; however, parties are responsible for updating their registrations on-occasion/as needed (e.g., if they change their address or the activities they engage in under the program). Engineering reviews are initially required and must be updated every three years. Less frequent collection of data would make it impossible to carry out the provisions of the Clean Air Act.
Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with PRA Guidelines at 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).
Reporting of transactions within EMTS are done on-occasion and as needed, when a respondent engages in a RIN transaction. The frequency is driven by the respondent. Some may engage in daily RIN transactions, while others may engage in very few transactions during the year. Because RINs are basically a market, respondents must be able to engage in transactions whenever necessary. The EMTS system is provided by EPA for all registered respondents to use as a reliable method of engaging in transactions.
The record retention schedule for the RFS regulation is five years. This is consistent with the statute of limitations under the Clean Air Act.
Respondents may claim information contained in their recordkeeping and reporting as confidential business information (CBI). Our registration and reporting methods and EMTS are designed in a manner to be able to handle CBI. Where practicable, we provide respondents with a clear method of asserting a CBI claim.
If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the Agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the Agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.
Federal Register 90 FR 17593, published April 28, 2025. It contained the notice entitled, “Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: RFS Annual Rules, EPA ICR No. 2691.03, OMB Control Number 2060-0740.” One comment was received from an anonymous submitter supporting renewal of the information collection and RFS goals of expanding renewable fuel use.
8b. Consultations
Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the Agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported. Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years - even if the collection of information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained.
We also solicited input from two industry participants. Responses from Weaver and Poet Bioprocessing both stated limited experience with biointermediates. However, Weaver did suggest increasing estimates related to hours required when implementing QAP and the use of professional services, but largely agreed with our method for calculating costs. We revised our final detailed cost estimates based on the feedback received.
Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.
No payments or gifts to the respondents were made.
Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or Agency policy. If the collection requires a systems of records notice (SORN) or privacy impact assessment (PIA), those should be cited and described here.
We inform respondents that they may assert claims of CBI for information they submit. Most form instructions contain a field to assert a claim. However, respondents may submit other information or attachments. Any information claimed as confidential by the submitter will be treated in accordance with 40 CFR part 2 and established EPA procedures. Information that is received without a clear claim of confidentiality may be made available to the public without further notice to the submitter under 40 CFR 2.203, although it is our normal practice to contact any respondent who has not indicated confidentiality prior to release of their information, to see if they wish to claim confidentiality. We do not collect privacy data under this program.
Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the Agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.
There are no sensitive questions.
Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:
Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated.
If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and the aggregate the hour burdens.
Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included as O&M costs under non-labor costs covered under question 13.
Respondents to this information collection include:
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Industry Category |
NAICS 1 code |
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Petroleum refineries. |
324110 |
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Ethyl alcohol manufacturing. |
325193 |
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Other basic organic chemical manufacturing. |
325199 |
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Chemical and allied products merchant wholesalers. |
424690 |
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Petroleum bulk stations and terminals. |
424710 |
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Petroleum and petroleum products merchant wholesalers. |
424720 |
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Manufactured gas production and distribution. |
221210 |
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Other fuel dealers. |
454319 |
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1 North American Industry Classification system (NAICS). |
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We have assumed the following classes of party, which are covered by this supporting statement.
Biointermediate producers
RIN Generators – specifically, renewable fuel producers who use biointermediates
Biointermediate importers
Third parties, including third party engineers, attest auditors, QAP providers, and independent parties who provide purchased professional services to the parties listed above.
The information requested is listed in detail in Appendix A and may be summarized, by respondent, as follows:
Biointermediate Producers (Table I) and RIN Generators - Renewable Fuel Producers (Table II) who use biointermediates:
Reporting requirements including registration and periodic compliance reports. These parties must engage the services of independent third parties to provide engineering reviews (a part of registration that describes the process or making the biointermediate and related aspects of the facility in which is produced), QAP (a process of independent verification of feedstocks and renewable fuels), and attest engagements (an independent auditing requirement). All forms are listed with regulatory citations in Appendix A, Tables 1 and 2, for these parties.
Recordkeeping requirements that include keeping copies of all records that support compliance reports and the use and retention of product transfer documents (PTDs).
Biointermediate Importers (Table III):
No reporting requirements.
Recordkeeping requirements that include keeping copies of PTDs and retaining/using volume certification records. These parties must engage the services of an independent third party to perform volume certification.
The activities and frequency are listed in detail in Appendix A and may be summarized, by respondent, as follows:
Biointermediate Producers (Table I) and RIN Generators - Renewable Fuel Producers (Table II) who use biointermediates:
Reporting requirements, including registration and periodic compliance reports. These parties have periodic compliance reporting requirements based on their production activities. All forms are listed with regulatory citations in Appendix A, Tables 1 and 2, for these parties.
Recordkeeping requirements that include keeping copies of all records that support compliance reports and the use and retention of product transfer documents (PTDs).
Biointermediate Importers (Table III):
No reporting requirements.
Recordkeeping requirements that include keeping copies of PTDs and retaining/using volume certification records. These parties must engage the services of an independent third party to perform volume certification.
To show the calculations, we have provided an Excel Spreadsheet containing extremely detailed program estimates. The spreadsheet was placed in the public docket to assist commenters in understanding this collection and the assumptions used to develop it. We sought and received comments and feedback from industry consultations.
Consultation requests were sent to representatives of Poet Bioprocessing and Weaver. Both respondents stated that they had limited experience with biointermediates. No edits or suggestions were received from Poet. Weaver (a company that specifically provides several services directly related to recordkeeping and reporting) provided some comments that resulted in upward adjustments of estimates related to performance of some services related to recordkeeping and reporting. No actionable comments were received from the public.
The revised total estimated respondents (by type), responses, hours, and total cost including both labor and non-labor costs is as follows:
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Third parties who have their own recordkeeping and reporting requirements are QAP providers. All other third parties do work for biointermediate producers and RIN generators as purchased services and the cost is attributed to the party that hires them. Such third parties would include contract engineers to do engineering reviews or independent accountants who perform attest engagements.
The total number of respondents and the non-labor costs (those used in the OMB Inventory for the collection) are as follows:
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TOTAL NUMBER of Respondents: |
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892.00 |
Non-Labor Costs* Only - Used for OMB Inventory: |
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$2,062,900.00 |
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All non-labor costs are purchased services. There are no capital and O&M costs.
The individual forms with their estimated hourly burden are as follows:
RFS0107 (5900-631) (Q) |
4 hours |
RFS0602 (5900-290) (Q) |
2 hours |
RFS0702 (5900-289) (Q) |
4 hours |
RFS0801 (5900-293) (Q) |
16 hours |
RFS0902 (5900-278) (Q) |
1 hour |
RFS2001 (5900-633) (A) |
16 hours |
RFS2101 (5900-634) (A) |
16 hours |
RFS2201 (5900-635) (A) |
16 hours |
RFS2301 (5900-636) (A) |
16 hours |
RFS2400 (5900-361) (A) |
16 hours |
RFS4000 (5900-529) (Q) |
20 hours |
This collection contains recordkeeping and reporting by methods other than forms. The overall annual burden to respondents for this collection is 27,871 hours.
Provide an estimate for the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden already reflected on the burden worksheet).
The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start-up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life) and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of services component. The estimates should consider costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling, and testing equipment; and record storage facilities.
If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of purchasing or contracting out information collections services should be a part of this cost burden estimate.
Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the government, or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.
Of the total, non-labor cost burden of $2,062,900.00, the full amount is purchased services and $0 is capital/O&M.
Provide estimates of annualized costs to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.
The EPA generates company and facility registration number(s) for new registrants and notify them of these numbers, which would appear on reports. EPA also processes pathway applications and examines registration materials, such as engineering reviews. Report formats and instructions/ guidance are maintained by EPA personnel. Reports are processed by contractors and are reviewed by EPA personnel using automated processes to the greatest extent practical. Reporting parties are contacted if there is a problem with their submission.
Note that these activities are already accounted for under the ICR related to the general collection related to RFS, which bears OMB Control No. 2060-0725 (expiring November 30, 2025).
The costs associated with the initial ICR, namely the costs needed to include biointermediates, when staff and contractors were making necessary changes to materials and systems, should not continue into this renewal. Therefore; Agency Burden and Labor costs are reported here as zero.
Since we are using CDX, some costs incurred by the EPA will be tied to the number of registrants who send us reports. As with other costs, the subscription cost is already accounted for in the general collection for RFS, which bears OMB Control No. 2060-0725 (expiring November 30, 2025). However, because there is an annual "subscription cost" associated with the use of CDX that is passed on to the EPA program office, and we may register new parties using biointermediates and receipt reports from them, we estimate that such activity may result in an increase of $2,000 for CDX.
As noted above activities are already accounted for under the ICR related to the general collection related to RFS, which bears OMB Control No. 2060-0725 (expiring November 30, 2025).
Accordingly, only the Agency Non-Labor costs stated above, those associated with using CDX, factor into the total cost. The subscription cost is already accounted for in the general collection for RFS, which bears OMB Control No. 2060-0725 (expiring November 30, 2025). The impact of renewal of this ICR on the annual "subscription cost" associated with the use of CDX may contribute to an increase of $2,000 for CDX.
Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in the burden or capital/O&M cost 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 far fewer parties who actually registered as biointermediate producers than the original estimates anticipated as a potential upper limit. Since the initial estimates were made, we now know that very few parties (far fewer than 10) have registered as biointermediate producers, although we anticipated as many as 60 might register at the start of the program. Similarly, we now know from registrations that very few parties (far fewer than 10) have registered as RIN generators related to biointermediates, although we anticipated as many as 90 at the start. We have readjusted our estimates to reflect the reality of participation in the first three years of this ICR. Because we may receive new pathways applications, we have considered that new respondents may become subject to the regulations and recordkeeping and reporting under them. We have adjusted the expectations, and the estimates, to reflect what we have learned in actual practice during the first three years of this collection.
For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.
Not applicable.
If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.
Not applicable.
Explain each exception to the topics of the certification statement identified in “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions.”
There are no exceptions.
The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average one hour per response. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the information. 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. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15.
Appendix A referenced in this document refers to the accompanying
file “2nd FR Notice EPA ICR #2691_03 Appendix A –
Detailed Burden Estimates Tables 1 through 4).xlsx”
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