Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Renewable Fuel Standard ...

fuel and containing identifying information including the name and address of the
transferor and transferee, the EPA-issued company and facility IDs of the transferor and
transferee, the volume of renewable fuel that is being transferred, the location of the
renewable fuel at the time of transfer, and the unique RIN associated with the volume of
fuel being transferred, if any. PTDs are used by all parties in the distribution chain down
to the retail outlet or wholesale purchaser-consumer facility that dispenses it into motor
vehicles.
Except for transfers to truck carriers, retailers or wholesale purchaser-consumers,
product codes describing various attributes of the fuel may be used to convey the
information required for PTDs, as long as the codes are clearly understood by each
transferee. Therefore, refiners and importers and exporters of renewable fuel may use
codes. The RIN would always have to appear on each PTD in its entirety before it is
separated from a batch, since it is a unique identification number and cannot be
summarized by a shorter code.
Obligated parties and exporters of renewable fuel would have to keep copies of
PTDs and of all compliance reports submitted to EPA for a period of not less than five
(5) years. The five year period is common to all our 40 CFR Part 80 programs and is a
reasonable period to retain records in the event a potential violation is reported and must
be investigated and pursued by enforcement personnel. They would also have to keep
information related to the sale, purchase, brokering and trading of RINs that support the
information they report to EPA. Refiners and importers would be responsible for
providing records to the Administrator or the Administrator’s authorized representative in
a usable format upon request.
C. Requirements for Producers and Importers Of Renewable Fuel
1. Registration
We propose that any producer or importer of renewable fuel must register by [90
DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF FINAL PUBLICATION OF THE FINAL RULE]. The
registration requirements are the same as those for refiners and importers of gasoline, as
described above. Renewable fuel producers were not previously required to register with
EPA and we anticipate around 280 new registrants as a result of this proposed registration
requirement. Although renewable fuels producers are not “obligated parties,” they are
the parties who generate RINs. As mentioned above in IV.B.1, the EPA-issued
registration numbers will be part of the unique RIN generated by the producer or importer
of renewable fuel. In order to support effective recordkeeping and reporting for
compliance purposes, we believe it is necessary for them and any party who generates or
owns RINs to register with the Agency.
Registration is a simple process and there is no expiration date associated with a
registration. However, registration information may be updated by the registrant as
needed, for example, if a mailing address changes. The information collected includes
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