BRAG® Petitions EPA for Biodiesel Products CDR Exemptions Already Granted to Petroleum Products

On October 21, 2014, the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG^®) submitted petitions to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requesting that biodiesel fuel manufacturers be granted the same Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) exemptions that petroleum-based diesel manufacturers already receive. BRAG made its petitions through two mechanisms allowed under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) rules. BRAG’s petitioning of EPA was reported in the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report story “Biobased Diesel Companies Petition EPA For Rules Comparable To Traditional Diesel.”

One petition, “Section 21 Petition for Section 8(a) Partial Exemption in Chemical Data Reporting for Biodiesel Products,” was submitted to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy requesting that EPA initiate a rulemaking to amend the TSCA Section 8 CDR partially exempted chemical list set forth in the EPA regulations at 40 C.F.R. Section 711.6(b)(1), referred to as the (b)(1) List. Specifically, BRAG petitioned EPA to add “biodiesel” as a chemical category for partial exemption for the same reasons as those given for petroleum chemicals already included, which occurred via a rulemaking process based on proposals submitted by the American Petroleum Institute (API). BRAG contends that biodiesel products should be treated similarly to the petroleum products included in the (b)(1) List due to the conditions of manufacture and the properties and uses of the substances.

The second petition, “Petition for Partial Exemption of Biodiesel Products,” was submitted to the CDR Coordinator of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). In it, BRAG petitions to add “biodiesel” as a chemical category in the partially exempted chemical list at 40 C.F.R. Section 711.6(b)(2)(iv), referred to as the (b)(2) List. EPA has stated that CDR processing and use information for chemicals on the (b)(2) List is of “low current interest” and has established a petition process to enable stakeholders to add chemicals to the (b)(2) list.

BRAG believes biodiesel belongs on the (b)(1) List but because there is no formal petition process to amend the (b)(1) List, it decided to proceed with the “low current interest” petition process to amend the (b)(2) List as well.

Amending the CDR partial exemption list to include biodiesels is necessary to ensure equitable regulatory treatment of chemical substances of comparable release and exposure potential, and to avoid EPA providing regulatory relief to one subset of diesel products over another — even though both meet the decision conditions identified by EPA in its final rulemaking to amend the (b)(1) List, especially in light of EPA’s stated objectives and interest in sustainable technologies in general, and ongoing programs that engage biodiesel producers in particular.

Regarding the petitions, BRAG’s Executive Director Kathleen M. Roberts stated: “We hope EPA recognizes that these petitions only seek to level the playing field for biodiesel and petroleum-derived diesel manufacturers. Under current regulation, biodiesel producers are required to spend significant amounts of time and money gathering and providing CDR information to EPA while petroleum-derived producers are not, for chemicals that are very similar, serve the same purpose, and are managed in equivalent ways.”

BRAG provides a platform for organizations engaged in biobased chemistries to identify regulatory barriers for their unique products and to work collectively to address them. BRAG tackles regulatory hindrances related to commercialization of biobased products and works to improve public awareness of the benefits of these products. For more information or to join BRAG, contact Kathleen M. Roberts at kroberts@bc-cm.com or (202) 833-6581. BRAG is managed by B&C^® Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM).