Emergency Request

August 3, 2021
TO:

Austin Mudd
Senior Desk Officer
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

THROUGH: Levi Harrell
USDA Information Collection Officer
FROM: Michele Brooks
Director, Regulations Management Division
Innovation Center, Rural Development, USDA

MICHELE
BROOKS

Digitally signed by
MICHELE BROOKS
Date: 2021.08.03
10:15:13 -04'00'

SUBJECT: Request for Emergency Approval of a New Information Collection Request
for Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Biofuel Producer Program
The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS), an agency of the Rural Development (RD)
Mission Area (Agencies) within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is seeking
emergency review and approval of a new information collection for the Notice of Funding
Opportunity (NOFO) for the Biofuel Producer Program. The Agency is expecting to publish the
NOFO, of which the 60-day notice is embedded, in the Federal Register by August 30, 2021.
In compliance with the requirements of 5 CFR § 1320.13, this request for emergency
approval is essential for RBCS to fulfill its responsibility to administer the Biofuel Producer
Program.

The Biofuel Producer Program is authorized by Section 751, Division N, Title VII—
Nutrition and Agriculture Relief, of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act). The Act authorizes
the Secretary of Agriculture to make payments to producers of advanced biofuel, biomass-based
diesel, cellulosic biofuel, conventional biofuel, or renewable fuel (as such terms are defined in
section 211(o)(1) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)(1))).
The payments will be administered in accordance with this NOFO. The Agency
anticipates only making one payment to an eligible applicant under this NOFO. Payments will
be based upon the volume of market loss the biofuel producer experienced in the first two
quarters of calendar year 2020 based on the requirements specified in this NOFO. Market loss
will be calculated by comparing the amount of fuel (gallons of eligible biofuel) they produced in
the third and fourth quarters of calendar year 2019 to the amount of fuel (gallons of eligible
biofuel) produced in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2020. Applicants producing

eligible biofuel in more than one production facility, market loss will be calculated based on the
production for all of their production facilities including production facilities that did not
experience market losses. Payments will be executed based upon the volume of market loss
experience data collected as a result of this NOFO. RBCS will affix a target volume price per
gallon, limited by the amount of funding available under the authorizing legislation.
The expeditious implementation of the Biofuel Producer Program is very critical to the
Agency’s mission for the reasons that (1) the Program will not be able to be implemented prior to
the end of FY 21, and (2) the use of normal clearance procedures is likely to prevent the collection of
information from applicants which, in turn, will have negative consequences on the intended
recipients.

This program is designed for eligible producers, individual or legal entity, including, but
not limited to, a corporation, company, foundation, association, labor organization, firm,
partnership, society, joint stock company, group of organizations, or non-profit entity that
produces an eligible biofuel.
Such funding is made because withholding these funds would unduly delay the provision
of the additional coronavirus response and relief funds which Congress intended to provide
expeditious relief to address the current economic conditions arising from the COVID–19
emergency. In lieu of the compressed deadline to publish the NOFO no later than August 30,
2021, USDA is requesting approval of this new collection package on or before August 16, 2021.
Failure to collect proper information from borrowers will hinder the implementation of the
program as well as the selection of recipients, and result in improper determinations of assistance
as well as encumber customer service.
The Congress, Administration, and USDA have indicated that the implementation of this
program is a top priority. Approval of the emergency request for this new information collection
is important because the Biofuel Producer Program will not be able to be implemented, as the
use of normal clearance procedures is likely to prevent the collection of information from
applicants which, in turn, will have negative consequences on the intended recipients, as well as
be in violation of the Act. Therefore, USDA is requesting that OMB complete their review and
approval of this new collection package on or before August 16, 2021.
The 60-day notice for comments is included in the NOFO, and comments on the Biofuel
Producer Program information collection package is requested in order to submit the regular
request to obtain a 3-year approval from OMB after receiving the 6-month OMB emergency
approval. Due to the need to consider comments received and then issue another notice for the
Federal Register for an additional thirty days of comment, RBCS would not be able to complete
the information collection process without the emergency clearance. Please note that after the
60-day comment period closes, RBCS will submit the regular collection package for a 3-year
approval addressing any comments received.
In compliance with OMB regulations (5 CFR Part 1320), which implements the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13), the information collection and
recordkeeping requirements that may be imposed by this section are submitted to OMB for

emergency review and approval. Attached are the supporting statement and spreadsheet for the
Biofuel Producer Program.
In summary, the expeditious implementation of this program is a top priority. Should
you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Michele Brooks, Director, Regulations
Management Division, Innovation Center, Rural Development by telephone at (202) 690-1078 or
by email at Michele.Brooks@usda.gov. or Lauren Cusick, Chief, Branch 2, Regulations
Management Division, Innovation Center, Rural Development by telephone at (202) 720-1414.
Thank you in advance for your quick review and response.

Attachment