Learn the Issues
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Progress Evaluation of the National Estuary Program
A guidance to help the U.S. EPA determine whether the 28 programs included in NEP are making adequate progress implementing their CCMP and therefore merit continued funding under §320 of the Clean Water Act.
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From the Desk of the Regional Administrator - "Join EPA’s Feed It Onward Initiative and Receive National Recognition for Fighting Food Waste"
EPA Region 7’s “From the Desk of the Regional Administrator” newsletter gives residents of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska a chance to hear from Regional Administrator Jim Macy on EPA’s work in their communities.
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How the National Estuary Programs Address Environmental Issues
Estuaries face many challenges including, alteration of natural hydrologic flows, aquatic nuisance species, climate change, declines in fish and wildlife populations, habitat loss and degradation, nutrient loads, pathogens, stormwater and toxics.
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Green Infrastructure Opportunities that Arise During Municipal Operations
This document provides approaches that local government officials and municipal program managers in small to midsize communities can use to incorporate green infrastructure components into work they are doing in public spaces.
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If RFG is shipped from a refinery to a terminal through a proprietary pipeline system, may the pipeline rely on the refinery and terminal test results to satisfy the quality assurance defense element?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. In a case where EPA documents a downstream standard violation at a proprietary terminal that is served only by a proprietary pipeline that receives gasoline only from a proprietary refinery, the company that owns the refinery, pipeline and terminal…
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If reformulated gasoline is found at the refinery to be off specification, what procedures are appropriate for handling this gasoline?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. A case may occur where a refiner discovers RFG at a refinery that does not meet applicable standards, before that gasoline is shipped from the refinery. For example, RFG for which a parameter is being met on average could…
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Are the liability and defense provisions of this rule structured similarly to those adopted by EPA in its prior motor vehicle fuel programs?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes. The RFG liability and defense provisions are closely modeled after other motor vehicle fuel programs, such as unleaded gasoline, volatility, and diesel sulfur. The final rule establishes liability for a number of prohibited activities that may occur downstream…
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Are multiple shipments from the same tank multiple batches?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. If a volume of gasoline is placed in a tank, certified (if not previously certified), and is not changed in some way it is considered to be the same batch of gasoline even if several shipments are made from…
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Are samples collected at a retail outlet dispenser acceptable for quality assurance testing requirements?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes, when sampling from retail outlets, nozzle samples should be collected according to the procedure specified in 40 CFR part 80, Appendix D, section 11.5. (7/1/94) This question and answer was posted at
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Is a company considered an importer under the RFG regulations if it has a refinery located in the Virgin Islands or Guam and transports gasoline produced at this refinery to a State?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Section 80.2(r) defines "importer" as "a person who imports gasoline or gasoline blending stocks or components from a foreign country into the United States...." Under § 302(d), Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana…
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Company A owns and operates a terminal which it uses exclusively to store finished gasoline. It leases a small portion of its tanks to Company B, who uses the tankage to purchase and blend components together to make gasoline. How can Company A protect itself from liability for a violation detected in one of the leased tanks?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The definition of "refiner" includes any person who owns, leases, operates, controls or supervises a refinery. Therefore, under this scenario, both the person who owns the gasoline being blended, and the person who owns the terminal tanks would be…
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For a conventional gasoline refiner that has oxygenate added downstream of the refinery, what sampling frequency and test methods must be used?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. For a refiner of blending stock to include in its compliance calculations the oxygenate used in blending conventional gasoline where the downstream blending was conducted by a person other than the refiner, § 80.101(d)(4)(ii)(B)(2) requires (among other things), that…
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Confirm that the attester will designate what is required to turn over a tank from one service to another, and how the barrels should be counted; i.e., from RBOB to conventional, or 3.5 wt% RBOB to 2.7 wt% RBOB.
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The attester will not designate products for the party subject to the attestation engagement requirement. The function of the attestation engagement is to provide an independent analysis of the designations made by the regulated party. The designation of gasolines…
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Could a refinery producing conventional gasoline composite samples up to one month, ship to another location and run testing there?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes. The regulations do not specify where or by whom the testing may be performed. The refiner or importer is ultimately responsible for sampling and testing each batch of conventional gasoline and reporting the results to EPA. Composite sampling…
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The regulations state that, "other than when gasoline is sold or dispensed for use in motor vehicles at a retail outlet or wholesale purchaser-consumer facility," transfer documents must be exchanged with the requisite information. In many areas of the country, the petroleum industry is using cardlocks, unmanned fueling facilities, to dispense gasoline into motor vehicles. These cardlocks provide access to fleet operators via an electronic card, which is also used to access the pumps. The pumps transmit an electronic message regarding the purchase and the customer is invoiced. There is no opportunity for the delivery of written paper at the time of purchase. In EPA's judgment, are these cardlock facilities considered retail outlets?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. As you describe them, these cardlock facilities would be considered retail outlets for purposes of the product transfer document requirements. (10/31/94) This question and answer was posted at
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Section § 80.65(e)(2) contains a mechanism for identifying the test result a refiner or importer must use if the independent lab's test result does not corroborate the refiner's or importer's test result. Does this mechanism apply in a case where the independent lab's test result fails to corroborate the refiner's or importer's test result for a particular parameter, but where both test results are within the applicable maximum level for that parameter?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The mechanisms specified in § 80.65(e)(2)(ii), for instances where a refiner's or importer's RFG test result is not corroborated by the independent lab's test result, apply whenever there is such a non-corroboration. There is no exception in a case…
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Section 80.80(e)(2) generally provides that a refiner or importer that fails to meet the independent analysis requirements of § 80.65(f) may not use the results of sampling and testing carried out by the regulated party as evidence of the properties of gasoline giving rise to a violation. Does this provision apply to California gasoline, which is exempt from the independent testing requirements?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. No. Because § 80.81(b)(2) exempts California gasoline from the § 80.65(f) independent analysis requirements, the "penalty" set forth in § 80.80(e)(2) for failure to meet these requirements is not applicable to such gasoline, unless this exemption is lost under…
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In § 80.69(a)(2), the procedure for sampling and analysis of RBOB is defined. A hand blend with the specified type and amount of oxygenate is to be prepared and the blended sample analyzed, with those results to be used in compliance calculations. In §80.67(g), compliance totals are defined as the sum of each batch's volume times its parameters. What volume is to be used for RBOB in computing the compliance total -- the actual RBOB volume produced or the implicit volume after blending with the specified oxygenate volume and type?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The volume after blending with the specified oxygenate volume and type (i.e., the RBOB volume plus oxygenate) should be used for computing the compliance total. (11/28/94) This question and answer was posted at
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In a situation where an importer leases tankage from another company, e.g., from a for-hire terminal, who must register such import facility, the company that owns the terminal, the importer that leases the tankage, or both?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Under § 80.2(r), an importer is defined as "a person who imports gasoline or gasoline blending stocks or components from a foreign country into the United States...." Accordingly, it is the importer of the gasoline, and not the owner…
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We are a domestic refiner who also will be importing (paying customs duties) conventional and reformulated gasoline into our own marketing terminal. It is our understanding that we would be the transferor, not the foreign refiner from whom the product was obtained. If we were importing into another party's terminal, the PTD would have to show them as receiving the product (transferee).
EPA reiterated they expect that most, if not all, of the PTD information would be included on existing type documents. New documents would only be required when there is no existing paper path with the necessary EPA information to follow product movements. If the necessary PTD
information is included on the foreign refiner's transfer papers, is it necessary to originate another
document since we are the first U.S. party involved in the transfer.See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The foreign refiner's paperwork would satisfy the PTD requirements if you provide it to the transferee and it includes all of the required PTD information, including the proper date and location of the transfer. (10/31/94) This question and answer…