Learn the Issues
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Is there any volume cap when using previously-retired 2008 or 2009 biodiesel RINs to satisfy an obligated party?s 2010 Biomass Based Diesel RVO? Can 2008 or 2009 biodiesel RINs that were previously-retired in 2009 also be used to satisfy Advanced Biofuel
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. 2008 and 2009 biodiesel and renewable diesel RINs (that is, RFS1 RINs with a D code of 2 and RR code of 15 or 17) used for compliance purposes in 2009 can also be used to reduce the 2010…
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What if pricing changes after the information has been reported to EMTS?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Parties will not be required to resubmit price information if it changes. The price information must be accurate rounded to the nearest cent (US Dollar) at the time the transactional information is sent to EMTS.
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Is the volume of renewable fuels a fixed number of gallons? How does this affect an obligated party's requirements?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The volume of renewable fuel used as the basis for calculating the percentage renewable fuel standards is fixed by CCA 211(o)(2)(B) for certain years (through 2012 for biomass-based diesel and 2022 for other renewable fuels), with volumes after those…
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Where can I find more information on biofuel subsidies?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. EPA does not issue biofuel subsidies. Please contact the IRS for more information on biofuel subsidies.
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For a transfer in ownership of a volume of renewable fuel, may a party include the applicable product transfer document (PTD) language required at §80.1453(a)(12) on an accompanying PTD for RINs assigned to that renewable fuel as described in §80.1453(a
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes. Under §80.1453(a), PTDs must identify a transfer of ownership of a volume of neat and/or blended renewable fuel or separated RINs. In general practice, this would mean invoices or bills of lading. However, in the case where additional…
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How do I find a listing of all obligated parties pertaining to the new RFS2 Program?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Review the Fuels Programs Registrants list located at https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-otaq-reg-II/action/reportExternal/Part80FuelsProgramslist. Any party registered as an importer or refiner for either the gasoline or diesel programs may be an obligated party in any given compliance year.
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What are the recordkeeping requirements for a renewable fuel producer that uses used cooking oils and fats as feedstocks for renewable fuel?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Renewable fuel producers using used cooking oils or animal wastes as feedstocks are required under 40 CFR 80.1454(d)(3) to obtain from their feedstock supplier, and maintain in their records, documents which certify that the feedstock meets the definition of…
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How does a renewable fuel producer document that the MSW feedstock that they are using to produce cellulosic ethanol meets the definition of separated MSW as defined in Section 80.1426(f)(5)(i)(C )? How does the producer quantify the portion of the final
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The renewable fuel producer using separated MSW feedstock to produce renewable fuels such as cellulosic ethanol, cellulosic diesel, cellulosic naphtha, etc. must document that their feedstock meets the definition of separated municipal solid waste (MSW), which is "material remaining…
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Does a renewable fuel producer have to report and maintain records on the feedstocks for every batch of renewable fuel they produce?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. All renewable fuel producers must report and maintain records concerning the type and amount of feedstocks used for each batch of renewable fuel produced (see 80.1451(b)(1)(ii)(K) and 80.1454(b)(3)(vi)). With regard to the renewable biomass recordkeeping and reporting requirements, if…
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In addition to 2009 RINs, may a party reinstate 2008 and 2010 RINs that were retired for non-road use under RFS1?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Pursuant to §80.1429(g), any 2009 RINs that were retired for non-motor vehicle, heating oil or jet fuel use under RFS1 may be reinstated under RFS2. The regulations do not allow 2008 RINs to be reinstated. Since RFS1 RINs generated…
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Under "Business Activities" on the Company Details CDX web page, what does "Small Blender" mean?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The small blender business activity is in relation to §80.1440: "What are the provisions for blenders who handle and blend less than 125,000 gallons of renewable fuel per year?" The small blender business activity entry is for those parties…
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May I generate RINs for renewable fuel that I produced and sold for non-motor vehicle use in the past so that I can reinstate those RINs under RFS2?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. No. RINs that were previously generated in 2009 and 2010 may be reinstated if they were retired for non-motor vehicle use. However, RINs may not be generated for renewable fuel produced in the past in order to retire RINs…
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Table 1 in 80.1426 does not include a coal fired ethanol plant. If a coal fired plant can be demonstrated as "grandfathered-in," can we assume the ethanol produced will have a D code of 6?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Per 80.1403(c), all facilities (including coal-fired facilities) for which construction commenced prior to December 19, 2007 and which completed construction within 36 months without an 18 month hiatus in construction may qualify for grandfathered status regardless of the fuel…
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Do grandfathered facilities have an additional 6 months to submit their engineering reviews to EPA?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes. In the preamble to the final RFS2 regulations at 75 Fed. Regs. 14709 (March 26, 2010), EPA stated that, in an effort to reduce demand on engineering resources in the interim between promulgation of the rule and July…
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What is the operational tolerance for denaturant in ethanol to meet the definition of Renewable Fuel? The RFS2 definition calls for a maximum of 2% denaturant. What if the lab results come back higher or lower than 2%? For example, what if the lab results
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The definition of renewable fuel in 80.1401 specifies that the maximum amount of denaturant in ethanol that can be treated as renewable fuel is 2 volume percent. If lab results indicate that the concentration of denaturant is higher than…
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If I produce biodiesel using waste vegetable oil, can I generate more RINs per gallon than if I use virgin soy oil? Would the use of solar panels as a heat source for our process help with our RIN number per gallon?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The number of RINs that can be generated for each gallon of renewable fuel is determined by the Equivalence Values. See regulations at 80.1415(b) and 8.1426(f)(2)(i), for example. Equivalence Values are based on energy content in the renewable fuel…
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If a producer is able to change its D code, can it make retroactive changes in the D code of the RINs it has issued previously during the year or earlier if the production during the previous period would meet the newly classified D code criteria?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Once a RIN is generated and transferred to another party, it cannot be changed. Thus, retroactive changes to D codes in RINs are not allowed.
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What are the requirements for a foreign producer who wishes to generate RINs for the renewable fuel they produce?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Foreign producers who plan to generate RINs must register and conduct a third-party engineering review pursuant to section 80.1450. Additionally, such foreign producers must meet the requirements in section 80.1466 prior to generating any RINs for their fuel. The…
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Does ethanol derived from cellulosic feedstock or sugar have the same Equivalence Value as ethanol derived form corn starch, i.e. 1.0?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes. Equivalence Values are based on energy content in the fuel, adjusted for renewable content in comparison to denatured ethanol. See 80.1415(c). Ethanol from starch, sugar, and cellulose is all chemically identical, and is all 100% renewable (none of…
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Will current canola based biodiesel production fall under the grandfathering provisions of the RFS2 regulations?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Biodiesel facilities may qualify for the exemption under 80.1403(c) from the requirement that renewable fuels achieve a minimum 20% GHG reduction as compared to baseline fuels if they "commenced construction" prior to the date of enactment of EISA. Thus…