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Read. Follow. Verify.Supporting Energy in Rural America Act (S. 4070)
Last action · March 22, 2024: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
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What This Bill Would Do
This bill proposes changes to the Clean Air Act to redefine what qualifies as a 'small refinery' and mandates a new process for how the government evaluates exemption requests from those refineries. It requires the Secretary of Energy to create a specific methodology for the EPA to use when reviewing these s.
The bill changes the eligibility criteria for refineries to qualify for exemptions under the , which directly impacts the regulatory requirements and compliance costs for refining companies and their employees.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Refining companies
Companies will be subject to new definitions for small refinery status and new evaluation criteria for exemption petitions.
Environmental Protection Agency
The agency must adopt a new methodology developed by the Department of Energy for evaluating refinery petitions.
Department of Energy
The agency is mandated to create a new methodology for evaluating refinery exemption petitions.
Key Facts
- Redefines a 'small refinery' as a company with an average daily crude oil throughput of 200,000 barrels or less, or one that employs 1,500 or fewer employees.
- Requires the Secretary of Energy to develop a new evaluation methodology for refinery exemption petitions within 180 days of the bill's enactment.
- Mandates that the EPA Administrator must use the Secretary of Energy's approved methodology when evaluating refinery exemption petitions.
- Requires the EPA to consult with the Secretary of Energy and consider economic factors and specific study findings when reviewing exemption petitions.
Show all 5 facts
- Amends Section 211(o)(1) and Section 211(o)(9)(B) of the Clean Air Act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for creating the new evaluation process?
How long does the Department of Energy have to create this methodology?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Inter-agency methodology shift
The bill shifts the primary responsibility for defining the evaluation methodology for refinery exemptions from the EPA to the Department of Energy.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.congress.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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