LEVEL Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 104 To repeal certain amendments to the Clean Air Act relating to the expansion of the renewable fuel program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2019 Mr. BURGESS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To repeal certain amendments to the Clean Air Act relating to the expansion of the renewable fuel program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Leave Ethanol Vol- 4 umes at Existing Levels Act’’ or the ‘‘LEVEL Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. REPEAL OF EXPANSION OF RENEWABLE FUEL PRO- 6 GRAM. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 211(o)(1) of the Clean 8 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(1)) is amended to read as fol- 9 lows: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H104.IH H104 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 104 IH ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1 ‘‘(A) CELLULOSIC BIOMASS ETHANOL.— 2 The term ‘cellulosic biomass ethanol’ means 3 ethanol derived from any lignocellulosic or 4 hemicellulosic matter that is available on a re- 5 newable or recurring basis, including— 6 ‘‘(i) dedicated energy crops and trees; 7 ‘‘(ii) wood and wood residues; 8 ‘‘(iii) plants; 9 ‘‘(iv) grasses; 10 ‘‘(v) agricultural residues; 11 ‘‘(vi) fibers; 12 ‘‘(vii) animal wastes and other waste 13 materials; and 14 ‘‘(viii) municipal solid waste. 15 The term also includes any ethanol produced in 16 facilities where animal wastes or other waste 17 materials are digested or otherwise used to dis- 18 place 90 percent or more of the fossil fuel nor- 19 mally used in the production of ethanol. 20 ‘‘(B) WASTE DERIVED ETHANOL.—The 21 term ‘waste derived ethanol’ means ethanol de- 22 rived from— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H104.IH H104 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 104 IH ‘‘(i) animal wastes, including poultry 1 fats and poultry wastes, and other waste 2 materials; or 3 ‘‘(ii) municipal solid waste. 4 ‘‘(C) RENEWABLE FUEL.— 5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘renew- 6 able fuel’ means motor vehicle fuel that— 7 ‘‘(I)(aa) is produced from grain, 8 starch, oilseeds, vegetable, animal, or 9 fish materials including fats, greases, 10 and oils, sugarcane, sugar beets, 11 sugar components, tobacco, potatoes, 12 or other biomass; or 13 ‘‘(bb) is natural gas produced 14 from a biogas source, including a 15 landfill, sewage waste treatment plant, 16 feedlot, or other place where decaying 17 organic material is found; and 18 ‘‘(II) is used to replace or reduce 19 the quantity of fossil fuel present in a 20 fuel mixture used to operate a motor 21 vehicle. 22 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSION.—The term renew- 23 able fuel includes— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H104.IH H104 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 104 IH ‘‘(I) cellulosic biomass ethanol 1 and waste derived ethanol; and 2 ‘‘(II) biodiesel (as defined in sec- 3 tion 312(f) of the Energy Policy Act 4 of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13220(f))) and 5 any blending components derived from 6 renewable fuel (provided that only the 7 renewable fuel portion of any such 8 blending component shall be consid- 9 ered part of the applicable volume 10 under the renewable fuel program es- 11 tablished by this subsection). 12 ‘‘(D) SMALL REFINERY.—The term ‘small 13 refinery’ means a refinery for which the average 14 aggregate daily crude oil throughput for a cal- 15 endar year (as determined by dividing the ag- 16 gregate throughput for the calendar year by the 17 number of days in the calendar year) does not 18 exceed 75,000 barrels.’’. 19 (b) RENEWABLE FUEL PROGRAM.—Paragraph (2) of 20 section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 21 7545(o)(2)) is amended as follows: 22 (1) REGULATIONS.—Clause (i) of subparagraph 23 (A) is amended by striking the last sentence. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H104.IH H104 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 104 IH (2) APPLICABLE VOLUMES OF RENEWABLE 1 FUEL.—Subparagraph (B) is amended to read as 2 follows: 3 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE VOLUME.—For the pur- 4 pose of subparagraph (A), the applicable vol- 5 ume of renewable fuel for each calendar year 6 shall be 7,500,000,000 gallons.’’. 7 (c) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGES.—Paragraph (3) of 8 section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 9 7545(o)(3)) is amended as follows: 10 (1) In subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘each of 11 calendar years 2005 through 2021’’ and inserting 12 ‘‘each calendar year’’. 13 (2) In subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘transpor- 14 tation fuel, biomass-based diesel, and cellulosic 15 biofuel’’ and inserting ‘‘gasoline’’. 16 (3) In subparagraph (B)(i), by striking ‘‘each 17 of calendar years 2005 through 2021’’ and inserting 18 ‘‘each calendar year’’. 19 (4) In subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘transpor- 20 tation fuel’’ and inserting ‘‘gasoline’’ in clause 21 (ii)(II). 22 (d) CELLULOSIC BIOMASS ETHANOL OR WASTE DE- 23 RIVED ETHANOL.—Paragraph (4) of section 211(o) of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H104.IH H104 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 104 IH Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(4)) is amended to read 1 as follows: 2 ‘‘(4) CELLULOSIC BIOMASS ETHANOL OR WASTE 3 DERIVED ETHANOL.—For the purpose of paragraph 4 (2), 1 gallon of cellulosic biomass ethanol or waste 5 derived ethanol shall be considered to be the equiva- 6 lent of 2.5 gallons of renewable fuel.’’. 7 (e) CREDIT PROGRAM.—Paragraph (5) of section 8 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(5)) is 9 amended by striking subparagraph (E). 10 (f) WAIVERS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (7) of section 12 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(7)) 13 is amended— 14 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, by 15 any person subject to the requirements of this 16 subsection, or by the Administrator on his own 17 motion’’; and 18 (B) by inserting ‘‘State’’ before ‘‘petition 19 for a waiver’’ in subparagraph (B). 20 (2) CELLULOSIC BIOFUEL.—Paragraph (7) of 21 section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 22 7545(o)(7)) is amended by striking subparagraph 23 (D). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H104.IH H104 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 104 IH (3) BIOMASS-BASED DIESEL.—Paragraph (7) of 1 section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 2 7545(o)(7)) is amended by striking subparagraphs 3 (E) and (F). 4 (g) PERIODIC REVIEWS.—Section 211(o) of the 5 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)) is amended by striking 6 paragraph (11). 7 (h) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Section 211(o) of the Clean 8 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)) is amended by striking para- 9 graph (12). 10 (i) REGULATIONS.—Section 211 of the Clean Air Act 11 (42 U.S.C. 7545) is amended by striking paragraph (2) 12 of subsection (v). 13 (j) OTHER PROVISIONS.— 14 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL AND RESOURCE CON- 15 SERVATION IMPACTS.—Section 204(b) of the Energy 16 Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 17 110–140) is repealed. 18 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE, SAVINGS PROVISION, AND 19 TRANSITION RULES.—Section 210 of the Energy 20 Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 21 110–140) is repealed. 22 (k) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 23 this section shall take effect on January 1 of the first cal- 24 endar year following the date of enactment of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H104.IH H104 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 104 IH (l) ESTIMATES FOR FIRST CALENDAR YEAR.—Prior 1 to January 1 of the first calendar year following the date 2 of enactment of this Act— 3 (1) the Administrator of the Energy Informa- 4 tion Administration shall provide to the Adminis- 5 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency an 6 estimate, under section 211(o)(3) of the Clean Air 7 Act, as amended by this Act, with respect to such 8 calendar year, of the volumes of gasoline projected 9 to be sold or introduced into commerce in the United 10 States; and 11 (2) based on the estimate provided under para- 12 graph (1), the Administrator of the Environmental 13 Protection Agency shall determine and publish in 14 the Federal Register, with respect to such calendar 15 year, the renewable fuel obligation for such calendar 16 year under section 211(o)(3) of the Clean Air Act, 17 as amended by this Act. 18 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF AUTHORIZATION OF HIGHER ETH- 19 ANOL BLENDS. 20 (a) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any provision of 21 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), the Adminis- 22 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency may not 23 permit or authorize (including by granting a waiver 24 through the fuels and fuel additives waiver process under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H104.IH H104 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 104 IH section 211(f)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(f)(4))) the 1 introduction into commerce of gasoline that— 2 (1) contains greater than 10-volume-percent 3 ethanol; 4 (2) is intended for general use in conventional 5 gasoline-powered onroad or nonroad vehicles or en- 6 gines; and 7 (3) is not, on or before the date of enactment 8 of this Act— 9 (A) registered in accordance with section 10 211(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(b)); and 11 (B) lawfully sold in the United States. 12 (b) REPEAL OF EXISTING WAIVERS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any waiver described in 14 paragraph (2) is repealed and shall have no force or 15 effect. 16 (2) WAIVER.—A waiver described in this para- 17 graph— 18 (A) is a waiver granted pursuant to section 19 211(f)(4) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 20 7545(f)(4)) prior to the date of enactment of 21 this Act that permits or authorizes the intro- 22 duction into commerce of gasoline that contains 23 greater than 10-volume-percent ethanol for gen- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H104.IH H104 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 104 IH eral use in conventional gasoline-powered 1 onroad or nonroad vehicles or engines; and 2 (B) includes the following: 3 (i) ‘‘Partial Grant and Partial Denial 4 of Clean Air Act Waiver Application Sub- 5 mitted by Growth Energy To Increase the 6 Allowable Ethanol Content of Gasoline to 7 15 Percent; Decision of the Administrator’’ 8 published at 75 Fed. Reg. 68094 (Novem- 9 ber 4, 2010). 10 (ii) ‘‘Partial Grant of Clean Air Act 11 Waiver Application Submitted by Growth 12 Energy To Increase the Allowable Ethanol 13 Content of Gasoline to 15 Percent; Deci- 14 sion of the Administrator’’ published at 76 15 Fed. Reg. 4662 (January 26, 2011). 16 (3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 17 apply with respect to a waiver to the extent such 18 waiver permits or authorizes the introduction into 19 commerce of gasoline— 20 (A) that is described in paragraph (2)(A); 21 and 22 (B) that is, on or before the date of enact- 23 ment of this Act— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H104.IH H104 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 104 IH (i) registered in accordance with sec- 1 tion 211(b) of the Clean Air Act (42 2 U.S.C. 7545(b)); and 3 (ii) lawfully sold in the United States. 4 (c) STUDY.—Not later than 2 years after the date 5 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Envi- 6 ronmental Protection Agency shall conduct, and submit to 7 Congress the results of, a comprehensive study on— 8 (1) the effects of the introduction into com- 9 merce of an ethanol-gasoline blend described in sub- 10 section (b)(2)(A) on consumer products, including— 11 (A) onroad and nonroad vehicles; 12 (B) nonroad engines (such as lawn mow- 13 ers); and 14 (C) any other applicable gasoline-powered 15 vehicles, engines, and devices; 16 (2) the impact of an ethanol-gasoline blend de- 17 scribed in subsection (b)(2)(A) on— 18 (A) engine performance of conventional 19 gasoline-powered onroad and nonroad vehicles 20 and nonroad engines; 21 (B) emissions from the use of the blend; 22 and 23 (C) materials compatibility and consumer 24 safety issues associated with the use of such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H104.IH H104 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 104 IH blend (including the identification of insufficient 1 data or information for some or all of such ve- 2 hicles and engines with respect to each of the 3 issues described in this subparagraph and sub- 4 paragraphs (A) and (B)); and 5 (3) the ability of wholesale and retail gasoline 6 distribution infrastructure, including bulk storage, 7 retail storage configurations, and retail equipment 8 (including certification of equipment compatibility by 9 independent organizations), to introduce such an 10 ethanol-gasoline blend into commerce without wide- 11 spread intentional or unintentional misfueling by 12 consumers. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:55 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H104.IH H104 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS