Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Renewable Fuel Standard ...
Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Renewable Fuel Standard ...
Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Renewable Fuel Standard ...
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IV. Registration, Recordkeeping, And Reporting Requirements<br />
A. Introduction<br />
Registration, recordkeeping <strong>and</strong> reporting are necessary to track compliance with<br />
the renewable fuels st<strong>and</strong>ard <strong>and</strong> transactions involving RINs. We are proposing to<br />
utilize the same basic forms for registration that we use under the reformulated gasoline<br />
(RFG) <strong>and</strong> anti-dumping program. 37 These forms are well known in the regulated<br />
community <strong>and</strong> are simple to fill out. Information requested includes company <strong>and</strong><br />
facility names <strong>and</strong> addresses <strong>and</strong> the identification <strong>of</strong> a contact person with phone<br />
number <strong>and</strong> e-mail address. Registrations do not expire <strong>and</strong> upon receipt <strong>of</strong> a completed<br />
registration form, EPA will issue unique company <strong>and</strong> facility identification numbers that<br />
will appear in compliance reports <strong>and</strong>, in the case <strong>of</strong> renewable fuels producers, will be<br />
incorporated in the unique RINs they generate for each batch <strong>of</strong> renewable fuel. We<br />
intend to use the same simplified registration method we use for existing fuels programs<br />
under 40 CFR part 80, <strong>and</strong> parties who have already registered with EPA under an<br />
existing fuels program will not be required to re-register <strong>and</strong> will be able to use their<br />
existing EPA-issued company <strong>and</strong> facility registration numbers.<br />
We plan to use a simplified method <strong>of</strong> reporting via the Agency’s Central Data<br />
Exchange (CDX). CDX will permit us to accept reports that are electronically signed <strong>and</strong><br />
certified by the submitter in a secure <strong>and</strong> robustly encrypted fashion. Guidance for<br />
reporting will be issued prior to implementation <strong>and</strong> will contain specific instructions <strong>and</strong><br />
formats consistent with provisions in the final rule. We intend to accept electronic<br />
reports generated in virtually all commercially available spreadsheet programs <strong>and</strong> to<br />
permit parties to submit reports in comma delimited text, which can be generated with a<br />
variety <strong>of</strong> basic s<strong>of</strong>tware packages. In order to permit maximum flexibility in meeting<br />
the RFS program requirements, we must track activities involving the creation <strong>and</strong> use <strong>of</strong><br />
RINs, as well as any transactions such as purchase or sale <strong>of</strong> RINs. Reports will be<br />
included in a compliance database managed by EPA’s Office <strong>of</strong> Transportation <strong>and</strong> Air<br />
Quality <strong>and</strong> will be reviewed for completeness <strong>and</strong> for potential violations. Potential<br />
violations will be referred to enforcement personnel.<br />
Records related to RIN transactions may be kept in any format <strong>and</strong> the period <strong>of</strong><br />
record retention by reporting parties is five (5) years, which is the time frame for<br />
retention under similar 40 CFR part 80 fuels compliance reporting programs. Records<br />
retained would include copies <strong>of</strong> all compliance reports submitted to EPA <strong>and</strong> copies <strong>of</strong><br />
product transfer documents (PTDs). Records would have to be provided to the<br />
Administrator or the Administrator’s representative upon request <strong>and</strong> they may have to be<br />
converted to a readable, usable format.<br />
37 Please refer to http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/fuels/rfgforms.htm. The relevant registration forms for our<br />
existing fuels programs are 3520-20A, 3520-20B, <strong>and</strong> 3520-20B1. Interested parties may wish to view<br />
these forms, as they may be useful in preparing comments on this proposed rule.<br />
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