The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has “disapproved” the amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) regulation that were approved by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on November 8, 2024.

According CARB’s memo, the OAL found “inconsistencies” between certain amendment provisions and the “clarity standards” required by state law. This means that some parts of the proposed amendments are confusing or unclear. The implications of this determination on the substance of the amendments depends on the scope of the discrepancies, whether they are simply technical or more substantial.

In response to the OAL decision CRTA President Nicole Rice issued the following statement:

“The LCFS program is a big part of Governor Newsom’s plan for a cleaner, more sustainable transportation sector in California. It encourages the use of renewable fuels like renewable natural gas (RNG), which captures methane from waste, keeping it out of the atmosphere. This is especially important for our most vulnerable communities.

The recent LCFS amendments have brought much-needed stability to the market, allowing the state to continue expanding the availability of affordable, lower-carbon fuels and improving air quality for everyone. CARB’s swift action to address identified issues in the draft is needed to restore market confidence to help us all breathe cleaner, healthier air sooner.”

OAL’s Decision of Disapproval is due by Tuesday, February 25, 2025 and will be available on their website. The decision will outline the reasons for their disapproval of the proposed regulatory action. CARB has 120 days from the receipt of OAL’s decision to revise and resubmit the amendments, which they plan to do. OAL will then have thirty working days to review the resubmission. In the meantime, CARB has stated they will “continue to implement the current version of the LCFS Regulation, which became effective in July 2020, while working to address the issues identified by OAL.”

The OAL reviews approved regulatory actions to ensure they are “clear, necessary, legally valid, and available to the public.” 

UPDATE: The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has published a new notice further explaining its disapproval decision. The notice reveals two reasons for the action: lack of clarity and “incorrect procedure.” CARB quickly addressed this information in an updated memo.

In the memo, CARB explains that it is their understanding that “incorrect procedure” refers to “nonsubstantive changes to the regulatory text that should be made before resubmittal.” CARB also mentions that their staff is experienced in responding to disapproval decisions, citing the 2022 Commercial Harbor Craft regulation disapproval as an example of their swift and successful resolution of such matters. The updated memo also includes links to the types of documents CARB expects to receive from OAL in the coming days.