Learn the Issues
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Under § 80.81(b)(2), California refiners are exempt from the independent analysis requirements set forth in § 80.65(f). Does this exemption allow California refiners to use a computer-controlled in-line blending operation without first obtaining an exemption from EPA?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes. Refiners of California gasoline may use computer-controlled in-line blending to produce RFG without obtaining an exemption under § 80.65(f)(4). However, RFG that does not meet the definition of "California gasoline" in § 80.81(a)(2) is subject to the independent…
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Unlike the PTD requirements for RFG and RBOB contained in § 80.77, the PTD requirements for conventional gasoline contained in § 80.106 do not indicate that PTD's are not required when gasoline is sold or dispensed for use in motor vehicles at a retail outlet or wholesale purchaser-consumer facility. Does this mean that retail stations that provide conventional gasoline must provide PTD's to their customers?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. PTD's are not required when conventional gasoline is sold or dispensed for use in motor vehicles at a retail outlet or wholesale purchaser-consumer facility. EPA intends to amend the regulations to reflect this. (10/17/94) This question and answer was…
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U.S. Customs regulations allow duty free entry for certain products produced in the United States that are exported from one U.S. port and imported at another U.S. port. These products are classified under U.S. Customs regulations as American Goods Returning to the U.S. This approach has been used, for example, in the case of certain gasoline and distillate products that are produced at U.S. refineries located on the Gulf coast and transported by ship to terminals located in Canada, and where the
product then is transported by truck to markets in the United States. What standards and requirements apply to imported gasoline in the case of gasoline that is classified by the U.S. Customs Service as American Goods Returning to the U.S.?See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. 40 CFR §§ 80.65 and 80.101 require importers of RFG or conventional gasoline to meet applicable standards, and to meet other requirements including sampling, testing, record keeping, and reporting. EPA considers gasoline to be imported for purposes of the…
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What defines a batch for refineries utilizing in-line blending?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Section 80.2 of the regulations defines a "batch" as "a quantity of reformulated gasoline which is homogeneous with regard to those properties which are specified for reformulated gasoline certification." For refiners who are exempt from the independent sampling and…
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What documentation will be needed downstream to show certification of RFG?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Downstream of the refinery level, RFG may be considered to be "certified" if it is accompanied by product transfer documents, specified in § 80.77, that identify the gasoline as RFG. Of course, if downstream testing shows that gasoline does…
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What is the EPA definition of an importer under the RFG final rule?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. EPA's importer definition is found at 40 CFR § 80.2(r), which states that an importer is "a person who imports gasoline, gasoline blending stocks or components, or diesel fuel from a foreign country into the United States (including the…
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What is the Equivalence Value for E85? Is it 0.85 since its renewable content is only 85 percent?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. No. Equivalence Values are generated and apply to renewable fuel at the point of production or importation, not at the point of blending. Thus it is denatured ethanol, not E85 (nor E10) to which the Equivalence Value applies. A…
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What field test methods are acceptable for oversight programs?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. For purposes of meeting the downstream quality assurance defense element, parties may use any test method, so long as that method is performed in accordance with sound engineering and laboratory principles in a manner which provides reasonable correlation to…
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What is EPA's intent on requiring the location of off-site records on the facility registration?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. EPA needs to know where records are stored so that EPA inspectors may inspect those records. If a facility keeps some or all of its records off-site EPA needs to know the address of the primary off-site storage facility…
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What is the frequency of correlation samples for laboratories to remain qualified for reform testing?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. There is no definition of "qualified" laboratories under the regulations. The principle requirement for correlation relates to the use of one of the alternate methods allowed until 1/1/97. When one elects to use ASTM D1319 for measuring aromatic content…
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In what form should independent laboratories report batch test results?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Independent laboratories should use the same reporting forms and EDI formats used by regulated parties for reporting on batch test results. They will not need to report designations for each batch or the results of emissions calculations. (7/1/94) This…
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What happens if, after submitting his annual compliance demonstration report, a refiner discovers that he exceeded the 20% cap on the use of previous-year RINs in meeting his RVO? Is he required to replace those RINs with new valid RINs at the old market price?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Annual compliance demonstrations must include a showing that the RINs used to comply with the RVO include no more than 20% previous-year RINs. If it is determined that this showing was incorrect due to either a mathematical error or…
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What is the maximum oxygen content a refiner, importer or blender may certify, including blending allowances? Does this maximum oxygen content vary according to oxygenate type?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. In general, refiners, importers, and oxygenate blenders may not certify fuel at an oxygen level above the maximum cap of 2.7% by weight for VOC controlled RFG, or 3.5% by weight for non-VOC controlled RFG. The maximum oxygen content…
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What information needs to be included on RBOB product transfer documents? Is any information about min/max's required?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The PTD requirements pertaining to RBOB can be found in § 80.77. They include the type of RBOB and the type and amount of oxygenate to be added as well as the min/max's for benzene and RVP, for VOC…
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What mechanisms exist to suspend RFS program requirements, should renewable supply be limited due to natural disasters?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. A: EPAct contains a provision to address unforeseen circumstances that may occur which result in a shortage of renewable fuel and available RINs and we believe that the statutory provision is sufficient to address unforeseen circumstances that may occur…
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What procedures should independent labs use to identify the samples for analysis under the 10% independent analysis option? What samples will EPA want to receive from independent labs?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Please see the following Protocol. (10/3/94) REFORMULATED GASOLINE PROGRAM INDEPENDENT SAMPLING AND TESTING REQUIREMENTS PROTOCOL FOR USE BY INDEPENDENT LABS IN SELECTING SAMPLES FOR ANALYSIS UNDER THE 10% INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS OPTION, AND FOR IDENTIFYING SAMPLES TO SHIP TO EPA…
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What options are available to refiners (and other regulated parties) in California for downgrading federal RFG in 1995, and CARB Phase II RFG in 1996 and beyond, to conventional gasoline for use outside the State of California. Such downgrading may be necessary, for example, at a terminal located in California downstream of the refinery but close to the California border with Arizona or Nevada, and that receives product via a pipeline that also goes into Arizona or Nevada. There undoubtedly will be situations where "California" gasoline is shipped via the pipeline to this terminal, but the terminal tanks are too full to receive all of this "California" gasoline. In such a case it will be necessary to allow the "California" gasoline to continue moving down the pipeline to a terminal outside California. In most cases, this gasoline would have been in fungible storage prior to shipment on the pipeline and the sample obtained at the refinery will not represent the gasoline diverted out of California.
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Normally, RFG may be redesignated as conventional gasoline without any restrictions, so long as the product transfer documents reflect this redesignation, and the redesignated gasoline is in fact used as conventional gasoline. See the Answers to Questions IX-B-13 and…
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What procedures must be followed if product is downgraded, e.g., RFG is downgraded to conventional? What procedures apply at the refinery as opposed to downstream?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. There is no prohibition on the sale of RFG in conventional areas. Once a batch of gasoline is certified as RFG and released from the refinery its designation cannot be changed by the refiner. However, the refinery can change…
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At what point in the import process must shipments of imported gasoline be sampled in order to meet the RFG and anti-dumping requirements?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Section 80.65(e)(1) requires importers to determine the properties applicable to the RFG standards for each batch of imported gasoline designated as RFG prior to the gasoline leaving the import facility, by analyzing a representative sample from the batch using…
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The applicability of standards in §80.101(c) is not clear. Do these provisions apply by refiner, regardless of how its refineries are aggregated? These provisions should apply to either individual refineries or aggregated refineries, depending on the refiner's choice of grouping refineries according to §80.101(h).
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The standards specified at §80.101(c) apply to individual refineries or refinery groupings as selected by the refiner under § 80.101(h). (7/1/94) This question and answer was posted at