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llmtctl States Senate
COMMtTTE
April 4, 2017
The Honorable Scott Pruitt Administrator Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20460
Dear Administrator Pruitt:
We are writing to you about hardship exemptions for small refineries under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). We are troubled with your predecessor's rejection of the Secretary of Energy's recommendations in favor of hardship exemption petitions. Congress directed the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consult with the Secretary on these petitions. As you review petitions for hardship exemptions from the 2016 Renewable Fuel Volume Obligations (RVOs), we ask that you give meaningful consideration to the Secretary's views,
Under the Clean Air Act, a small refinery may petition the Administrator for an exemption from its annual RVOs under the RFS on the basis of "disproportionate economic hardship." When evaluating a petition. Congress directed the Administrator to consult with the Secretary of Energy. Historically. the Secretary used a two-part test to determine whether a small refinery experiences disproportionate economic hardship. Specifically, a small refinery had to experience: "a high cost of compliance relative to the industry average disproportionate impacts and an effect sufficient to cause a. significant impairment of the refinery operations viability."
In 2015, Congress included report language to accompany the "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016." This language instructed the Secretary to recommend to the Administrator that EPA grant a 50 percent exemption to small refineries experiencing either a high cost of compliance relative to the industry average disproportionate impacts or an effect sufficient to cause a significant impairment of the refinery operations viability. Since its adoption, the Secretary has recommended that the Administrator grant petitions for a 50 percent exemption for a number of small refineries. However, we understand that Administrator McCarthy rejected these petitions.
During your confirmation hearing, you stated that "[i]t is not the job of the Administrator...to do anything other than administer the [RFS] program according to the intent of Congress." You rightly emphasized the importance of process, the rale of law, and listening to others. We request that you - in contrast to your predecessor - acknowledge the direction that Congress gave the Secretary with, respect to petitions for hardship exemptions and give meaningful consideration to the Secretary's recommendations. This should apply to the 2016 RVOs as well as future RVOs,
Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to your response.
Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA
Tier 3/4
ED 002061 00173871-00001
kfohn Barrasse, M.D, ^ Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
Enclosure
Sincerely,
U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA
Tier 3/4
ED 002061 00173871-00002
December 1 7 , 2015
CONGRESS! ON AL RECORD -- HOUSE
H i 0105
provided for BEK, The ag reem en t provides $70.{J0CMttHi for th e fo u rth y e a r o f t h e second five-year term of the three BioEnergy Resiem-'h C e n te rs T h e D e p a rtm e n t is urgi'd to give p riority to o-pUmmng th e operation of BE E u se r f&cillfciesn
Rw.vom Energy Seum ces.--Tiro a g re e m e n t contirm es th e new budget s tru c tu re for fu sion eueryy sciences and provides funding ac cordingly.
T h e agreem ent- p ro v id es $14*755.600 for horning plasm a science foundations; $41,021.000 fur h o rn in g p lasm a sc ien ce long palce; and $67.1124.000 U v d isc o v e ry p h u u m scienr.i.c in clu d in g .$3,750,000 for high en erg y d e n s ity scien ce and d isc o v ery p has m u se k m re o p p o rtu n itie s a t NDCX-41 in support, o f th e m ission oi Fusion Energy Sciences.
The agreement, ptovtdes not less th a n $?UKKU1G0 for th e N a tio n a l S p h e ric a l T o ru s E x p e rim e n t, n o t less th a n $90.009.000 fo r LU N D . an d n o t less than. $115,000.000 for Alec to r G-Mod.
The agreem ent includes funding for the inkm il coptribubione and re la te d su p p o rt aottvits.es of ITER, in addition. to th e rep o rtin g language Included m th e full, the D ep art m ent shall provide to the C om m ittees on Ap propriations ei both K ojaes of Congre^. not l a t e r than. F e b ru a ry 3.5, SOltf, a n d a g a in on A ugust 15, ".dH8, a r e p o rt on th e s t a t u s uf UuITER project and the im pletncniarson of the D irector G eneral's A ction P lan, including
m w budget projections, project schedule, cost overruns., delays, o rg an izau o n ai stru c ture changes, m anuiactuning deliveries, as sem bly, and inatg liaison.
High Energy Physics-.--T h e a g re e m e n t p ro vides, 26,000,000 for th e D ong B a se lin e N eu trin o F acility (LBNFh p ro ject coustnuhsuii line. The agreem ent provides no iumUng for LBNF w ithin O ther P ro ject Costs. It is ex pected t h a t in crease d fu n d in g for LBWK will conic horn o th er Ferm i N atio n al L aboratory funding Within th e High E nergy P h y sics ac c o u n t, W ith in a v a ila b le fu n d s. $10.300,000 is provided fo r DEBT, $10.500,000 is p rovided fhr LUX ZKFLINL ami S40.800.0O0 U p rovided ini the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Cam era... T h e a g re e m e n t provides no I n e th e r iim dfflg- d ire c tio n w ith in th e H igh E n e rg y P h y s ics account.
Narl^ar P h v m ,<.--WstVuu a v a ila b le .funds, the D epartm ent is encouraged to fund opti m al operations fur the R e la tiv istic Heavy Ion Collider a t Brookhavcn N nuoual Labora to ry , T h e a g re e m e n t p ro v id es $100,000,000 for the F acility for Rare Isotope Beams. No fu r ther direction is provided for the N uclear Physics, account.
B 'e; lettuce hom dapnienr fo r 7>vr/o-,n. a n d Sr
nihsts --The agreem ent
not im dode pre
v io u s Repgf.e d ire c tio n toy th e C om pute-
ticmal Sciences G raduate Fellow ship pro
gram .
advanced Research projects agency--
ENERGY
The agreement provides $391,000,000 fur the
A dvanced R esearch P ro je c ts Ag run. y-~ E n
ergy,
T IT L E -17--INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY LOAN' GUARANTEE PROGRAM
T h e a g re e m e n t p ro v id es $42,0011,000 fo r a d m in is tr a tiv e expenses lo r th e T itle 17 In n o vative Technology Loan Gim rantoe Program T his am o u at is offset by estim ated revenues o f $25,000,000, re s u ltin g in a n e t ap p ro p riatio n . o f $17,000,000,
T h e D e p a rtm e n t is d ire c te d to c o n tin u e to. provide so the Committees* on A ppropria tions of both Houses of Gnugreas q u arterly rep o rts on th e s ta tu s of th e Capo Wind oendiLuumI c o m m itm e n t, in clu d in g an u p d a te o n ongoing' Irrigation and the risk s th is litig a tio n poses so the success of tin: pro ject
Advanced T echnology Vehicles Manufacturing L oan .Program
T h e a g re e m e n t provides. $8,000,000 for th e
Advanced Technology Vehicles M anufac turing Loan Program .
departmental Administration
T hu a g re e m e n t p rovides $130,97^000 fo r De
partTM sm.tsl Ad m i n is t r a ti n n .
Sw ap Reft net# g te m p tim i.'--U nder se ctio n
21.1<o if
of the Clean A ir Act, a sm all re
finery m ay petition the Environm ental Pro
te c tio n Agem .y ' BP A) A d m in is tr a to r io r an.
exem ption from th e Renewable Fuel S tan d "
a rd f.R.FBj cm th e b a s is t h a t th e re fin e ry ex
p erien ces a dispmjxjTtiOB&te econom ic h a rd
sh ip under the RES. When evaluating a p e ti
tion, the A dm im strator consults w ith the
Secretary of Energy to determ ine w hether
disproportionate economic hardship exists.
A* <.
to ` no D e p n r tm e n r- M arch LIU
Ntu.td Refinery Fxem pLnn NLuly, dtspropertio t::,ie c c c n o rd c b.:mi>d):p m o rt i ^ iu jin tiw tw o h scad votbS'onuutK a high ee-;t c( t om phr ttx r ivlgtiyi-' to t h r in d u stry u v eregc dk;~ p iu p a riiu rs ie m ip e o u and ah e u e c t suffi' mu* to a u n t- e siguiim rm t imps:u n m e t of L ie re iin r iv ope ra t sop;- vuiM Iky
if d r Srein-Giry finds Hn-i 'lil-oo if rhese fun cumyouv-nls vdiU ^, th e & ecn>tur\ is (Uiev tu d to resxmpr.en<i it} \ h r FRA A d m iris tivstu: s': nd pem m i. w aiv er oi RKS req u rreoc-utf- for the p e titio n * , T lw Hvcr**''1a ry la also directed to seek moll i finery com m ent before m a k in g changes to it: sc o rin g m e tric s
for -small refinery p etitions for RES waivers and to notify tils C om m ittees on ApproprlaUons of both Houses ot Congress prior to
m aking any final changes to scoring m etrics. T its conferesicc re p o rt aceompa:ti.viti-g th e
Energy and W ater Developm ent and Related .Agencies A p p ro p riatio n s A ct, 2010< ad d ressed sim ilar issues and directed the Secretary to red o an. e a r lie r s tu d y done Co e v a lu a te w h e th e r th e & FS programs im poses a dxspropcrCiomite econom ic hardship on sm all re fin e rie s . l%\ callin g for th e S e c re ta ry to redo the study, the conference report cited th e lack of sm all refinery Input in to th e earh e r stu d y , concerns a! o u t reg io n al R F S com pliance cost disparities., sm all refinery dependence on the purchase of renewable fuel cred its {RINsi. and in creasin g RIN costa. S in c e th e n , th e dram e.H e r is e in R1N p rices has am plified RF& com pliance and com peti tive disparities, especially whore unique re gional factors exist, including high diesel de m and, no export access, and lim ited biodiesel infrastructure and production, In response to recent petitions, the S ecretary determ ined t h a t tn e RB'S p ro g ram w ould im pose & d is proportionate econom ic and stru ctu ral im p act on several sm all refineries. Despite this determ ination, the Secretary did not rec omm end, and EPA did not provide,, any E F S relief because it determ ined the refineries were profitable enough to afford th e cost of K FS com pliance 'w ithout su b sta n tia lly im pacting th eir viability. The S ecretary is re m inded th a t the RFG program m ay impose a disproportionate econom ic hardship on a s m a ll re fin e ry even i th e re fin e ry m a k e s enough profit to cover the cost oi com plying w ith the program. Sm all refinery profit ability does not justify a disproportionate r e g u la to ry b u rd en whore- C ongress h a s ex plicitly given EPA authority, m consulta tion w ith the Secretary, to reduce or elim i n ate this burden,
o m c E of the Inspector General
T h e a g re e m e n t p rovides $16.t4M,O00 lo r th e Offioe of the Inspector General,
ATOMIC ENERGY DEFENSES A CTIV ITIES
NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY .A D M IN IST R A T IO N
T h e a g re e m e n t provides $12,5S5>512,80O fo r the N ational N uclear Security A dm inistra-
tu r n i'NNSA), in lie u of d ire c tio n in th e S en ate report, the agreem ent includes language addressing the Consolidated Emergency Op eratio n s C enter, which will contain the En ergy Resilience and O perations Center, in an earlier section,
Budget Structure Ckangrs T he agreem ent provides funding for Weapons A ctivities com s i s t e n t w ith th e budge?* s tr u c tu r e m th e House rep o rt. The NNSA is specifically pro hibited from requesting' any fu rth er changes to th e budget stru ctu re provided hi this Act u n le s s th e NN&A h a s o b ta in e d a g re e m e n t in advance from th e C om m ittees on Appropria tio n s of both Houses of Congress.
Laboratory Directed Research and Develop m ent .--"In lig h t of th e r e p o rt of th e C o m m is sion to Review th e Effectiveness of the N a tio n a l E n erg y L a b o ra to rie s, th e B eu retary u> directed to provide a report on the Im pact of burdening' L aboratory D irected Research and
D evelopm ent and provide recom m endations on legislative changes to address the Com m issio n 's finding's.
Weapons a c tiv it ie s
T h e a g re e m e n t p ro v id es $8.846.943.OilO for Weapons A ctivities.
Life Extension Programs and Motor Aiierations.--T he NNSA is directed to clearly ac count for all costs of any m ajor .m ulti-year sto ck p ile rvfui bioismont a c tiv ity w ith a to tal c o s t g r e a te r th a n $i*GGU$0il,0CKJ and shall, e n sure a form al and com prehensive acquisition m anagem ent plan is in place to manage such e ffo rts, AH importing- a n d e th e r re q u ire m e n ts in q u ire d by th e C o m m itte e s on. A p p ro p ria tio n s of b o th H ouses of C ongress fo r `'L ife Extension. P ro g ram s'1shall also apply to any m ajor m ulti-year stockpile refurbishm ent a c t i v i t y with. a. to t a l c o s t g r e a te r th a n
$1,000,000,000, Stockpile Production.--T h e NNSA m d i
r e c te d to c o n d u c t an. a s se s sm e n t of th e fe a si b ility and costs of work leveling strateg ies th a t would, reduce th e Im p act of perform ing sim ultaneous m ajor refurbishm ent^ in the .30:20. t o 2025 tim e fra m e an d to p rovide a r e p o rt on its findings to th e Com m ittees on A ppropriations oi both Houses of Congress n o t la t e r th a n 120 d a y s a f te r th e e n a c tm e n t of th is Act, T he rep o rt sh a ll include a de scription of costs to accelerate d is m a n tle m e n ts p rio r bo 2020 an d to ex te n d
p ro d u c tio n of th e W38 A l t 370 by two years, W8&-4 Life E xtension Fritgmm.-TM#o t l a te r
th a n S e p te m b e r 15, 2010, th e NNSA siv&U p ro vide to th e C o m m ittees on A ppropriations of
both Houses of Congress a report mi the inde p en d en t an aly sis oi th e alte rn a riv ss selected by t h e NN3A fo r th e W90--4 Life E x ten sio n P ro g ra m as d li'e o te d in th e H ouse re p o rt.
Strategic Materiais-r-- T h e a g re e m e n t p ro vides $250,040,000 fo r S tra te g ic M a te ria ls S ustainm ent to consoUdafe funding for ac tiv itie s needed, t o m an ag e th e NNSA4s in v en to r y of s tr a te g ic m a te r ia ls , as. d ire c te d in th e House report. Tills am ount includes funding for planning and o th er activities the NNSA determ ines are necessary to support the sustainm ent of strategic m aterials. The ag reem en t does n o t include re stric tio n s in the S enate report regarding' Dom estic Ura nium Emiohm m it.
Advanced R a d io g ra p h yThe agreem ent p ro v id es $45,700,000. T h e a g re e m e n t does n o t
include restrictio n s hi the House report on the use of funds for new radiography capa b ilitie s a t I)l&. T h e NN-SA is d ire c te d to p ro vide an estim ate of the cost to develop new ra d io g ra p h y c a p a b ilitie s -at U ia an d d e ta il
the costs of any M ajor Item s of Equipm ent in its budget request.
inertial Confinement Fusion and ffttfh F id d ,--T h e a g re e m e n t provides $5U ,090.000, W ithin, th is a m o u n t, $320,000,000 s h a ll h fo r th e N a tio n a l Ig n itio n F a c ility , $68,000,000 sh a ll fee fo r OMEGA,, and $7,000.000 sh a ll he for th e Naval Research L aboratory,
Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA
Tier 3/4
ED 002061 00173871-00003