Learn the Issues
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For downstream compliance, has EPA addressed the issue that two complying batches mixed downstream may not comply when tested downstream?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. In the development of the Complex Model, EPA investigated the possibility that two complying batches, when mixed, may not comply with the RFG standards. This "fungibility" issue arises out of the model's nonlinear character. Based on a Monte Carlo…
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A refinery can produce non-ester renewable diesel by processing renewable feedstock through a distillate hydrotreater. In this situation, the refinery must assign RINs based on the feed volume. I assume the refinery can follow the rules for defining a batch (i.e. a batch can be up to the production volume of a month as long as the batch total volume is less than 100 million gallons).
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes. However, it is the total number of gallon-RINs, not the total volume, that must be less than 100 million. See regulation Section 80.1126(c). Question and Answer was originally posted at: Questions and Answers on the Renewable Fuel Standard…
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During a transition period, refiners will produce VOC-controlled RFG that is blended with non VOC-controlled RFG downstream of the refinery in order to blend down RVP prior to the beginning of the VOC season. How will the resultant mixture be classified and identified on the PTD issued for instance by a terminal?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The resulting gasoline should be listed as non VOC-controlled RFG on the PTD's, unless the resulting blend meets the requirements to be designated as VOC-controlled gasoline. (7/1/94) This question and answer was posted at
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Is EPA documentation necessary to settle inventory over/short accounts where the volume of gasoline involved is de minimis? If so, what are the parties documenting?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. PTD information is only required when there is a transfer of title or custody of any gasoline (with the exception of gasoline sold or dispensed at a retail outlet or wholesale purchaser-consumer for use in motor vehicles). As a…
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EPA has stated that a Product Transfer Document must be provided to the transferee in an exchange transaction. Is this true when this exchange is instantaneous and the transferee has no ability to alter the product?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes. When any person transfers title or custody of any gasoline (with the exception of gasoline sold or dispensed at a retail outlet or wholesale purchaser-consumer for use in motor vehicles), the transferor must provide to the transferee the…
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The EPA has stated that PTD's include documents that reflect the transfer of ownership and physical custody of gas or blendstock, including invoices, receipts, bills of lading, manifests and pipeline tickets. Each of these documents contain different pieces of information required by the EPA. Some specify quality, quantity, parties of transfer, etc. Some are available prior to product shipment and some, such as pipeline meter tickets and final Bills of Lading, are provided after the product moves. Can we assume that the information identifying place of use restrictions, segregation requirements or standards of performance can be provided to the transferee prior to the product shipment? But that other transfer document requirements such as final quantity shipped, can be provided to the transferee after the product moves?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes. The regulations require PTD's be provided by the transferor to the transferee on each occasion when any person transfers custody or title of RFG, RBOB or conventional gasoline. The regulations do not specify at what point in the…
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EPA has stated that RFG imports must be tested and certified before off-loading a marine vessel. Must this certification occur while the vessel is docked, or may it occur while the vessel is at anchor? If a vessel is certified while at anchor, may the gasoline be transported to shore tanks using smaller vessels ("lightering"), with product transfer documents to document the transfers?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Imported gasoline normally must be certified while the gasoline is on board the marine vessel used to transport the gasoline to the United States, and the certification sampling must be performed subsequent to the vessel's arrival in the port…
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EPA has required that volumes be reported in gallons, but much of the industry measures volume in barrels. May volume be reported in barrels?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. No. If necessary, convert the volume in barrels to gallons using the proper conversion factor (42 gals/bbl) and round the result to the nearest whole gallon. When rounding fractional values, values from 0.01 to 0.49 should be rounded down…
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Exactly where will EPA define downstream and upstream in regards to applying enforcement test tolerances at refineries, including terminals registered as refineries? For example, does the enforcement test tolerance apply to RFG after it has been produced and certified at a refinery and transferred from the blending tank to other tankage at that refinery?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The enforcement test tolerances (which are relevant only to the "downstream standards" which are oxygen, benzene, and RVP) would apply to samples of RFG collected subsequent to movement of the RFG from the tank in which the certification sampling…
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The territories and protectorates that are included in the CAA definition of "State" are not per se included in the PADD definition. What are the PADD designations for the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are in PADD 6; Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands are in PADD 7. (12/5/94) This question and answer was posted at
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Is tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) an acceptable alternative oxygenate to MTBE?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Tertiary butyl alcohol may be blended in amounts permitted under its section 211(f) waiver. There are several oxygenates available other than the two most common, MTBE and ethanol, and these oxygenates may be legally used if blended in the…
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There is considerable confusion regarding the ability of refiners to commingle RBOB produced at different refineries. Some refiners have interpreted 80.69 as requiring separate storage and handling for each RBOB, even when both are "any oxygenate" RBOB. Can "any oxygenate" RBOB be commingled?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. RBOB must be segregated from RFG, and from other RBOB having different oxygenate requirements, to the point of oxygenate blending. There is no need to separate "any oxygenate" RBOB from other "any oxygenate" RBOB. (7/1/94) This question and answer…
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In theory, each step of the RFG testing chain could yield varying (assuming increased) results due to reproducibility -- what is EPA's position on this?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. It is up to the regulated parties to determine margins of safety. EPA does not get involved in this determination. (8/29/94) This question and answer was posted at
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We are a marketer of ethanol products. Sometimes personnel at ethanol plants make mistakes as to the number of gallons being loaded or produced. How do we "recall" erroneous RINs if the number of RINs exceeds the number of gallons we receive?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The parties (producers) selling ethanol to you have an obligation to transfer appropriate RINs to you. A producer who is also a marketer may assign up to 2.5 RINs per gallon of renewable fuel. A producer who is not…
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We are an association. Many of our members are blenders who are small and who find the attest engagement (audit) requirement difficult and expensive to comply with. We would like to engage a CPA who would be able to perform the required review of our members' records, in hopes of generating a cost savings to them. The following two part question related to our handling of reporting and attest engagements on behalf of our members:
a. Could we become the delegated authority for submission of reports on behalf
of our members?
b. Could we hire a CPA and pay for the annual attest engagements for our
members?See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. We believe it may be appropriate for individual blenders to pay for CPA services through their association and recognize that this may result in a cost savings to them. Section 80.125(a), which is referenced by 80.1164, says: "Any [blender]…
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We are a wholesaler of E100 and B100. We do not do any blending. We purchase and sell E100 and B100 and sell it to anyone who needs it. What in the RIN code must be changed to document the change of ownership?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Nothing changes in the RIN code to document a change of ownership. Question and Answer was originally posted at: Questions and Answers on the Renewable Fuel Standard Program (pdf) (55 pp, 221 KB, EPA420-F-07-041a, August 2007)
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We would expect to purchase or exchange for reformulated gasoline in reformulated areas. At any given time, a tank could contain product from upwards of 3 different commingled RFG batches. As a distributor, is it sufficient to state on a bill of lading that all products conform to RFG, or must each of the batches in this tank be listed on the transfer document?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. This question assumes that PTD's must include batch identification numbers, which is incorrect. PTD's are not required to included the batch number or the name of the refinery that produced the gasoline. A distributor should include all the required…
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What are limitations, if any, on blending RFG with materials for sale into non-RFG markets?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. When RFG is blended with blendstocks, the blender is considered a refiner under the antidumping requirements and thus is responsible for the properties of the blendstock which is added to the finished RFG. Compliance calculations for blendstocks which are…
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If an importer is unsure of what terminals might be involved in importing gasoline (RFG or conventional), may importers register more terminals than might be used?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes. However, an importer does not need to register each import facility it uses (see previous question). (7/1/94) This question and answer was posted at
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Regulation Section 80.1131(b)(4) states that, in the event that the same RIN is transferred to two or more parties, "all such RINs will be deemed to be invalid, unless EPA in its sole discretion determines that some portion of these RINS is valid." What’s the process to determine if a portion of RINs are valid?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. In many circumstances, EPA will be able to determine whether any of the RINs (or particular gallon-RINs within a batch-RIN) are valid from the information submitted to EPA in the RIN generation and transaction reports. Through these reports, it…