California’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL) last week notified the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that recently adopted amendments to the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) were being rejected, preventing the changes from taking effect. According to CARB, the rejection was due to “inconsistencies of specific regulatory amendment provisions with the clarity standard.”

CARB has 120 days to revise and resubmit the proposal to address deficiencies identified by OAL. Until then, the current LCFS regulations remain in place while CARB navigates the approval process. Depending on the extent of the required revisions, CARB may seek public input.

“Our team is dedicated to engaging with CARB to ensure that the latest science informs clear, effective regulations that support the biomass-based diesel industry and market stability,” said Jeff Earl, Director of State Governmental Affairs at Clean Fuels Alliance America, “We will continue to keep our members and stakeholders informed as new developments emerge.”

The notice was made public last week during the National Ethanol Conference and Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Geoff Cooper told reporters, “Usually the OAL sort of takes their 30 days and then they rubber stamp regulations given to them by CARB. They didn’t do that this time.”

Cooper speculated that the rejection could be related to cost concerns. “We’ve been saying all along that approving E15 in the state of California would help address some of the concerns about costs,” he said.

Listen to Cooper’s comments on the CARB issue starting at 12:00 in this press interview.
RFA CEO Geoff Cooper, press avail (25:22)