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• To whom do I report an oil discharge?

  A facility should report discharges to the National Response Center (NRC) at 1-800-424-8802 or 1-202-267-2675 . The NRC is the federal government's centralized reporting center, which is staffed 24 hours per day by U.S. Coast Guard personnel. If reporting directly to NRC is not practicable, reports also can be made…

  • Last published: June 5, 2024

• When must I report an oil discharge to NRC?

  Any person in charge of a vessel or an onshore or offshore facility must notify the National Response Center (NRC) immediately after he or she has knowledge of the discharge.

  • Last published: June 5, 2024

• What is the definition of “overburdened community” that is relevant for EPA Actions and Promising Practices?

  EPA Actions and Promising Practices apply the description of overburdened communities articulated in EPA’s Plan EJ 2014. The term is used to describe the minority, low‐income, tribal and indigenous populations or communities in the United States that potentially experience disproportionate environmental harms and risks due to exposures or cumulative impacts…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• How will an EPA regional office determine whether a permitted activity impacts a potential overburdened community? What screening tool or process will EPA regional offices use to screen permit applications?

  The Agency has developed a nationally consistent screening tool to help identify communities that are potentially overburdened. This tool, known as EJSCREEN, is one of several tools being developed under Plan EJ 2014. EPA anticipates that its regional offices will use EJSCREEN and other readily available information, including known community…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• Some of the Promising Practices are mentioned in EPA regulations, guidance and recommendations that EPA has issued in the past. So why is EPA issuing the Promising Practices?

  EPA is issuing Promising Practices to encourage permit applicants to strategically plan and conduct enhanced outreach to overburdened communities in the permitting process. As some commenters noted, EPA has recommended some of the outreach strategies included in Promising Practices previously. Nevertheless, EPA believes that it is important to issue Promising…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• What will constitute a valid electronic signature for electronic submission of reports to EPA?

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . EPA will require that each party who wants to report electronically must sign an agreement that the use of electronic reporting methods will be considered equivalent to paper methods and that personal identification numbers assigned by EPA will…

  • Last published: July 23, 2024

• What is the definition of a responsible corporate officer (RCO) who is required to certify some of the submissions involved?

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . Under § 80.75(n), reports to EPA must be signed and certified as correct by the owner or a responsible corporate officer of the refiner, importer, or oxygenate blender. "Owner" means the person who is the principal owner of…

  • Last published: August 2, 2024

• Could we become the delegated authority for submission of reports on behalf of our members?

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . Individual blenders could rely on your association to submit reports to EPA on their behalf. . However you should understand that if any reports are not submitted or are submitted improperly then responsibility would fall upon the individual…

  • Last published: August 2, 2024

• By our reading of the regulations, the only reporting required of the oxygenate blender who elects to comply with the oxygen standard on a per gallon basis is a yearly report due the last day of February of each year (beginning in 1996) that states the to

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . Your interpretation is correct.(10/31/94) This question and answer was originally posted at Consolidated List of Reformulated Gasoline and Anti-Dumping Questions and Answers: July 1, 1994 through November 10, 1997 (PDF) (333 pp, 18.17 MB, EPA420-R-03-009, July 2003, About…

  • Last published: August 2, 2024

• Question 14, Section VI.C., of the July 1, 1994 Question and Answer Document provides an example of the creation and addition of two different batches to form a composite mixture. All or a portion of this composite is shipped as RFG. How will the refinery

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . Question 14 relates to in-line blending operations that have petitioned EPA for and received an exemption from the independent sampling and testing requirements of the RFG regulations. In such petitions, refiners often define a "batch" of in-line blended…

  • Last published: August 6, 2024

• The batch report requires reporting the volume percent for six oxygenates -methanol, MTBE, ethanol, ETBE, TAME and t-butanol. If a refiner or oxygenate blender uses MTBE or ethanol as an oxygenate, and does not include in its calculation of oxygen weight

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . Trace amounts of oxygenates that may be present in MTBE or ethanol do not have to be reported. However, where a refiner reports total oxygen weight percent that includes MTBE or ethanol plus other oxygenates in larger than…

  • Last published: August 6, 2024

• What happens after a facility submits the information about an oil discharge to EPA?

  The EPA Regional Administrator will review the information submitted by the facility and may require a facility to submit and amend its SPCC Plan. Facilities and equipment that qualified for the new streamlined requirements may lose eligibility for those options as determined by the Regional Administrator. A state agency may…

  • Last published: June 5, 2024

• Who is subject to the Discharge of Oil regulation?

  Any person in charge of a vessel or of an onshore or offshore facility is subject to the reporting requirements of the Discharge of Oil regulation if it discharges a harmful quantity of oil to U.S. navigable waters, adjoining shorelines, or the contiguous zone, or in connection with activities under…

  • Last published: June 5, 2024

• Are permit applicants required to adopt the Promising Practices?

  EPA is not requiring permit applicants to adopt the Promising Practices. Promising Practices are simply that: good ideas in the form of suggestions to permit applicants. Permit applicants may benefit from applying these Promising Practices. EPA hopes that when permit applicants practice early and meaningful dialogue with the community, they…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• EPA Actions does not require EPA regional offices to prioritize the same types of permits and adopt the same outreach activities. Why doesn’t EPA require regional offices to always prioritize certain permits and always do certain outreach activities?

  EPA Actions strikes an important balance between national consistency and regional flexibility. The Agency‐wide guidelines establish national consistency by providing EPA’s expectations for the regional implementation plans. At the same time, EPA recognizes that the regional offices need the flexibility to take actions suited to the types of permits and…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024