Learn the Issues
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How should refiners use blending records for oxygenate parameters when distillation is nonlinear?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. In this situation, it may be necessary to do further testing with the same oxygenates and similar hydrocarbon blendstocks to determine the blending effects. (7/1/94) This question and answer was posted at
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What are the reports required for a refiner who produces RFG under the per gallon option?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. A refiner meeting the certification standards on a per gallon basis must submit quarterly reports for every batch of reformulated gasoline and RBOB produced, as specified in § 80.75(a), and the end of year statement indicated in § 80.75(l)…
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What does EPA consider "shipment volume" for the volume reported to the EPA? Would shipment be considered the point at which the product leaves the blend tank where it is certified and is fungibly mixed in sales tanks; could it be the point where the product is placed on a pipeline, barge or sold over the rack; could it be the point of tender as defined in the audit requirements; or at the point where a transfer of custody or ownership took place?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. For purposes of reporting, under § 80.75(a)(2)(iii), the "volume of the batch" is the volume that leaves the blend tank where it is certified and is subsequently fungibly mixed somewhere else. (9/26/94) This question and answer was posted at
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What documentation must a refiner or importer obtain to exclude exported gasoline from their compliance calculations per § 80.101(e)(4)?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Section 80.101(e)(4) does not designate any specific documentation required to exclude exported product from a refiner's or importer's compliance calculations. However, product transfer documents accompanying a product for export should clearly indicate that the product is intended for export…
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What is the definition of "computer-controlled in-line blending"?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The regulations do not define computer-controlled in-line blending. Generally, EPA will consider an in-line blending operation to be adequate if it has sophisticated computer monitoring and recording of all relevant data generated during the batch. These systems would also…
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Today, and with the Phase I complex model, there is effectively a 1 RVP difference between the Region 1 and 2 standards. In Phase II, this difference basically drops to 0 RVP. Was this intended, and why?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The Phase 2 Volatility Standards (55 FR 23658 (June 11, 1990)) provided the basis for the different RVP standards, depending on VOC Control Region, for reformulated gasoline under the Simple Model. The standards for VOC emissions performance for Phase…
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What are the sampling and testing requirements for terminal blenders (barges, trucks and pipelines)?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. If the facility's activities fit the definition of a refiner, it would have to sample and test each batch of gasoline as required under § 80.65(e). If its activities fit the definition of an oxygenate blender, it would have…
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In what areas outside the continental U.S. must refiners and importers comply with the RFG and anti-dumping requirements?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Under § 302(d) of the CAA, the term "State" means "a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa and includes the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands." Sections 211(k)(5)…
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What downstream remedies are available if a batch of RFG is found to violate the minimum complex model VOC emissions reduction standard?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The remedies outlined in the December 5, 1994 RFG/Anti-dumping Questions and Answers document (VII.E.1) apply to complex model RFG that is found to violate the minimum VOC emissions reduction standard. (11/10/97) This question and answer was posted at
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According to the RFG and anti-dumping provisions, a regulated party must keep records for as long as 5 years. Can the original documents, such as bill of ladings, be transferred by a regulated party to micro fiche and allow the original records to be destroyed?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The regulations do not specify in what form records must be kept. A method of storage which faithfully reproduces records, like micro fiche recording, would be acceptable so long as means of referencing the information are kept on hand…
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How should storage tanks be sampled for RFG?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Section 80.65(e)(1) of the regulations states that "[e]ach refiner or importer shall determine the value of each of the [reformulated gasoline] properties for each batch of reformulated gasoline it produces or imports prior to the gasoline leaving the refinery…
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If an area's standards have been ratcheted, some suppliers of that area will likely opt for a per gallon standard the following year and thus are not required to meet the ratcheted standards. Will it not be much more likely for that area to fail a subsequent survey since subsequent surveys will be comparing results obtained from samples of largely per gallon RFG to a ratcheted standard? Furthermore, if surveys occur during the first part of a year, before it is known whether surveys were failed late in the previous year, how will regulated parties know the standard against which these survey results will be compared?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. These are two of several questions which are based upon the following incorrect interpretation of the regulations: Determination of a survey failure during a year when ratcheted standards are in place is based upon a comparison of the survey…
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If a batch of reformulated gasoline fails to meet the RFG specifications but meets the anti-dumping (i.e. conventional gasoline) specifications, can this batch be certified as conventional gasoline? May it be distributed through a facility located in an RFG area? What is required on the bill of lading? What else is required of the distributor? Is the distributor liable if the recipient sells the conventional gasoline in an RFG area?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Gasoline that does not meet the requirements for reformulated gasoline may be designated as conventional gasoline prior to leaving the refinery and must be included in the refiner's compliance calculations in accordance with the anti-dumping requirements regardless of its…
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If a spot sample indicates the analyzers were off, can a sample from the transporting ship or truck in which the fuel is being shipped be used to certify the batch? Can this sample be taken when off-loading the fuel?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. In the case of an approved in-line blending system, spot sample results should be used to correlate with the results from on-line analyzers. If a spot sample shows that the on-line analyzers are not properly monitoring the fuel parameters…
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If a refinery supplies averaged gasoline to an area which fails a survey, can the refinery during the following year opt to meet per gallon standards and thus avoid the ratcheted standards which would have been applicable to its averaged gasoline?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes. If a refinery opts to meet per gallon standards instead of averaging, ratcheted standards do not apply to that refinery even if the refinery had supplied averaged gasoline to the ratcheted area the previous year. Ratcheted standards apply…
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If a terminal receives gasoline that is delivered directly from a foreign source but the operator or owner of the receiving terminal is not the importer of that gasoline, is that terminal still considered to be the import facility? Is it the responsibility of the terminal operator or owner, who is not the importer, to do the testing, certification, recordkeeping, reporting, attest engagements and other functions described as importer responsibilities in the final RFG rules?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The requirements for certification of RFG are applied to the importer, not the import facility. As described above, the importer is the person who is the importer of record with the Customs Service for the gasoline, and normally is…
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For refiners that in-line blend and are exempt from the independent sampling and testing requirements, which test measurements are to be used for the certified fuel properties, the integrated readings from on-line analyzers and flow meters, spot samples, composite samples, or samples taken from storage tanks downstream of the blending process?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Generally, the results from the composite sample, tested using the methods specified in § 80.46 of the regulations, should be used. If more than one composite sample is taken during the blend and tested to determine compliance, or if…
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Section 80.67(a)(2) authorizes a compliance procedure for benzene and oxygen averaging on a "covered area" basis. If a refinery participates in a compliance survey, does this section apply? Does this section apply only if a refinery decides to average oxygen or benzene and does not participate in a compliance survey? Do ratchets apply to parties complying with oxygen and benzene averaging under this section?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The compliance procedure described in this section allows for oxygen and benzene averaging on an area-specific basis. Since the purpose of surveys is to assure that nationwide averaging provides adequate quality gasoline overall on an area-specific basis, a party…
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Section 80.69(e) refers to "additional requirements for oxygenate blenders who blend oxygenate in delivery trucks." What type of activity is this intended to cover?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. This section refers to any case where the RBOB and oxygenate is not combined, mixed, and tested in a storage tank before loading into a truck. Thus, the provision includes cases both where the RBOB and oxygenate are sequentially…
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Section 80.78(a) requires segregation of several categories of gasoline and precludes the mixing of any amount of the gasolines that must be segregated. EPA recognized the difficulty in changing the service of a storage tank as a result of tank heels, and and outlined a 5-step procedure for changing the service of a gasoline storage tank. EPA's description of this procedure does not state that a company will avoid
violating the § 80.78(a) segregation prohibition if this procedure is followed, and, therefore, the procedure appears to expose companies to liability for violation of the segregation requirements.
In addition, EPA outlined procedures for dealing with interface mixtures. It is unclear if a party who follows these procedures will be in violation of the § 80.78 segregation prohibitions. If this interface activity is considered a violation, the regulated parties will be exposed during all sequential shipping of gasoline on a pipeline, an activity acknowledged by EPA to be necessary for conducting business and supplying gasoline to the marketplace. Without some type of relief, regulated parties will not be able to ensure delivery of available supplies of RFG.
Will EPA exercise enforcement discretion and not initiate an enforcement action if parties follow the procedures described in the Question and Answer Document, or will EPA enter into written enforcement protocols with regulated parties to ensure no enforcement actions are brought in order to "facilitate the orderly conduct of business."See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. A party who follows the procedures for dealing with the change of service for a gasoline storage tank, or for dealing with pipeline interface mixtures, that are described in the Question and Answer Document will be considered by EPA…