The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has released its rationale for last week’s decision to disapprove the proposed amendments to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). You can review the full rationale in OAL’s official document here.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) must address several issues identified by OAL, including:
- Executive Officer Determinations for Land Use Change (LUC) Values:
The language stating that the Executive Officer “may” determine that values in Table 6 are not representative of a particular region, feedstock, or fuel combination and assign a more conservative LUC value lacks clarity. CARB must specify the circumstances under which the Executive Officer will make such determinations and assign alternative LUC values. - Satellite-Based Remote Sensing Data:
References to “satellite-based remote sensing data for land cover monitoring, crop yields, and emission factors” are overly vague. CARB must provide greater detail about the intended application and methodology for using these data sources. - Updates to the Tier 1 CI Calculator:
The language stating that the Executive Officer “may” approve updates to the Tier 1 CI Calculator, if necessary, is unclear. CARB must clarify when and under what conditions the Executive Officer will approve updates to ensure alignment with the CA-GREET4.0 model or associated data sources specified in the CA-GREET4.0 Model Documentation. - Biomass-Based Diesel Pathway Applications After 2031:
The provision allowing the Executive Officer to “choose” not to accept new fuel pathway applications for biomass-based diesel beginning January 1, 2031, is ambiguous. CARB must clarify the criteria or circumstances under which the Executive Officer will accept or decline such applications, even if the specified requirements are met. - Alternate Methods for Missing Data:
OAL highlighted that the proposed text does not adequately describe the process the Executive Officer will use to assign an alternate method for missing data. CARB must also enumerate the factors, criteria, or other considerations that will guide the selection of a conservative alternate method. - Validation Notifications and Eligibility Requirements:
When the Executive Officer deems an application ready for validation and notifies the applicant, the proposed text is unclear about how notifications will be issued. Furthermore, CARB must clarify the content of the eligibility requirements list and the criteria used to determine these requirements. - Specified Source Feedstock Attestation Letter:
OAL has requested clarification regarding whether the Specified Source Feedstock Attestation letter must be maintained by both fuel pathway holders and applicants, or solely by pathway holders.
CARB is required to revise and resubmit the amendments within 120 days. If substantive changes are made to the amendments, they will be released for public comment.
