Learn the Issues
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Can an ethanol or biodiesel plant keep a RIN?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. In general, producers of renewable fuel must assign all RINs that they generate to volumes of renewable fuel and transfer those RINs with the renewable fuel to another party. However, there are some exceptions. First, producers of cellulosic or…
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Can a company which is both a refiner and importer transfer oxygen and benzene credits from its import operations to its refineries?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes, through a transfer of credits meeting all conditions of § 80.67(h). (7/1/94) This question and answer was posted at
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Can a company ship, sell, or offer for sale conventional gasoline to a retailer or wholesaler operating on an Indian Reservation in an ozone nonattainment area which has been opted-in by the state? Can a company sell conventional gasoline to a wholesaler who supplies a retailer or wholesaler who is operating on an Indian Reservation in an ozone nonattainment area which has been opted-in by the state?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The Clean Air Act (CAA) specifies the areas that must be subject to the reformulated gasoline (RFG) program. These "covered areas" are: (1) the nine major metropolitan areas with the worst (highest) ozone levels; and (2) any area reclassified…
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Can exports of high olefins, high benzene, and/or nil oxygen gasolines from the U.S. generate credits for the exporter?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. No. Section 80.67(g)(6) provides that oxygen and benzene credits are generated if the actual total for the oxygen standard is greater than the compliance total, or if the actual total for the benzene standard is less than the compliance…
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Can oxygen and benzene credits be transferred from the RFG area where they are created to another RFG area?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Benzene and renewable oxygenate credits may be transferred from the refiner or importer who creates the credits to any other refiner or importer who would use the credits. Oxygen credits may be transferred from the refiner, importer, or oxygenate…
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Can a producer aggregate multiple shipments into a single batch up to a threshold quantity as long as the batch is within one calendar month?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Yes. In the context of generating RINs and specifying the BBBBB code, producers and importers have the option to define a batch as being comprised of several discreet shipments within a calendar month, so long as the total number…
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Can refiners aggregate if one of the refineries is partially owned? If so, how? (e.g. co-owned by oil company and some other, unrelated company)
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. No. Two refineries can only be aggregated if they are wholly owned by the same refiner. If a refinery is owned by more than one party, it may not be aggregated with any other refineries. (7/1/94) This question and…
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Can a refiner blend oxygenate into purchased conventional gasoline and use the oxygenate to meet its conventional gasoline requirements as long as the oxygenate is not being counted by the producer of the gasoline? Can this blending occur at a refiner owned terminal?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Section 80.101(d)(4) provides that any oxygenate that is added to conventional gasoline, or gasoline blending stock as described in § 80.101(d)(3), may be included in the refiner's compliance calculations, "where such gasoline or gasoline blending stock is produced or…
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Can a refiner ship gasoline with an oxygen content higher than 2.9 weight % using ethers? The purpose is to quickly increase the oxygen content in the distribution system.
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. In general, the maximum oxygen content for RFG that is not designated as VOC-controlled is 3.5 weight% oxygen. However, under the terms of the § 211(f) "Sun" waiver, MTBE blends are restricted to 15 volume% (or approximately 2.7 weight%…
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Can refiners linearize the distillation curve between points or must refiners curve fit data on every sample? Is linear interpolation using a table of values considered calculating E200 and E300 "direct from the data"?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Refiners should use the most accurate means available to determine values for E200 and E300. If these parameters can be measured directly, such direct measured values should be used. If E200 and E300 must be converted from distillation data…
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Can refiners reduce the number of significant figures required for emissions values from 4 to 3 (the fourth significant figure is not meaningful in these calculations)?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. No. Section 80.90(g) states that emission values shall be determined to four (4) significant figures. (7/1/94) This question and answer was posted at
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Can you blend normal butane and natural gasoline, whose composition cleaner than RFG, and certify it as RFG?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. A party who produces RFG by combining blendstocks is a refiner under the RFG regulations, and is subject to all RFG standards and requirements. See the answer to Question 7, Section IX.B., of the July 1, 1994 Question and…
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Can a transmix processor recover gasoline from transmix and call it conventional gasoline without meeting the requirements that apply to a conventional gasoline refiner, and mix the conventional gasoline with other conventional gasoline?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. In the answer to question IX-B-16 of the July 1, 1994 Question and Answer Document, EPA described procedures for transmix processors to follow when producing conventional gasoline or RFG through the transmix processing. In the case of conventional gasoline…
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In the case of an RBOB refiner conducting oversight over the RFG produced at a downstream oxygenate blending operation, what standards does EPA intend that the refiner should check through sampling and testing?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Under § 80.69(a) an RBOB refiner is required to calculate the non-oxygen parameter values for the RFG produced from the RBOB using either the oxygen blending assumptions under § 80.69(a)(8), or the actual oxygen blending levels if the refiner…
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In the case of oxygenate added downstream to a refinery's gasoline, what assumptions can the refiner make about the composition of ethanol? Is the refiner required to test the ethanol for its relevant properties?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. Refiners who include in refinery compliance calculations the ethanol added downstream to the refinery's gasoline may assume that denatured ethanol is used, and that the denaturant comprises 5 vol% of the denatured ethanol. Such a refiner may assume that…
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In the case of a refiner or importer using the 100% independent analysis option, must the refiner or importer conduct any sampling or testing of RFG in addition to that performed by the independent lab?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. A refiner or importer using the 100% independent analysis option must use the test results from the designated independent lab as the basis for all RFG reports to EPA. The RFG regulations do not prohibit a refiner or importer…
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In the case of parties who wish to blend butane into RFG or conventional gasoline, what options are available for meeting the testing requirements that apply to this activity?
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. The addition of blendstock, including butane, to RFG or conventional gasoline would constitute the production of gasoline, with the result that the blender would be considered a refiner under the RFG and anti-dumping regulations, and would be subject to…
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Clarify that the valid range for RVP specified in the regulations has no effect on winter calculations with the Complex Model since the RVP is fixed at 8.7 psi in the winter regardless of the actual RVP of the fuel.
See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help. That is correct. Since the winter Complex Model requires the use of an RVP of 8.7 psi for both baseline and target fuels regardless of the actual RVPs, the valid range limits for RVP do not apply to the…
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Test Reports for Aftermarket Retrofit Devices
These test reports are for all of the specific products tested by EPA under the Aftermarket Retrofit Device Evaluation Program.
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COVID Impacts Session (2023 EIC)
Presentations/papers given at the COVID Impacts session of the 2023 IEIC