RFG/ANTI-DUMPING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, MARCH 7, 1996 The following are responses to most of the questions received by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through February 6, 1996, concerning the manner in which the EPA intends to implement and assure compliance with the reformulated gasoline and anti-dumping regulations at 40 CFR Part 80. This document was prepared by EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, Office of Mobile Sources, and Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Office of Regulatory Enforcement, Air Enforcement Division. Regulated parties may use this document to aid in achieving compliance with the reformulated gasoline (RFG) and anti-dumping regulations. However, this document does not in any way alter the requirements of these regulations. While the answers provided in this document represent the Agency's interpretation and general plans for implementation of the regulations at this time, some of the responses may change as additional information becomes available or as the Agency further considers certain issues. This guidance document does not establish or change legal rights or obligations. It does not establish binding rules or requirements and is not fully determinative of the issues addressed. Agency decisions in any particular case will be made applying the law and regulations on the basis of specific facts and actual action. While we have attempted to include answers to all questions received by February 6, 1996, the necessity for policy decisions and/or resource constraints may have prevented the inclusion of certain questions. Questions not answered in this document will be answered in a subsequent document. Questions that merely require a justification of the regulations, or that have previously been answered or discussed either in a previous Question and Answer document or the Preamble to the regulations have been omitted. MODELS 1. Question: In determining the standards under the early use Complex Model, does a refiner need to comply with a 15% reduction (or, in the case of an averaging scenario, a 16.5% reduction) from the emission standards determined under 80.41(j) for VOC and toxics? Answer: No. The emission standards (when expressed in terms of percent reduction from the statutory baseline) determined under 80.41(j) for VOC, toxics, and NOx are the emission performance levels below which reformulated gasoline cannot be certified. The early use Complex Model emission standards calculated per 80.41(j) automatically include the VOC and toxics reductions required under the RFG program. No additional reductions beyond the standards established under 80.41(j) are required. 2. Question: Under the early use Complex Model, emission standards for VOC, toxics, and NOx are determined according to 80.41(j). If per-gallon standards are being determined, the values from the table in 80.41(a) are used to calculate the emission standards with which a refiner must comply. If averaging standards are being determined, the values from the table in 80.41(b) are used instead. However, since the table in 80.41(b) includes per-gallon limitations under the averaging program, how should the per-gallon fuel property limits be translated into per-gallon emission limits under the early use Complex Model? Answer: To determine per-gallon emission limits under the early use Complex Model for an averaging scenario, first determine the standards for VOC, toxics, and NOx according to 80.41(j). These standards should be represented as percent reduction from the statutory baseline despite the fact that the calculations should be performed using g/mi values (see question #3 below for details). Then subtract 4.00% from each of the averaging standards to obtain the per-gallon limits. Per-gallon emission limits should only be calculated for VOC and NOx. 3. Question: Since there is no annual version of the Complex Model, how should annual toxics standards be determined under the early use Complex Model? Answer: First, separate summer and winter standards should be determined for toxics according to 80.41(j) [there is no VOC standard for the winter season, and the average NOx standard must be met separately for summer and winter per 80.67(e)]. These seasonal standards should be represented in terms of g/mi for this calculation. Then the summer and winter standards should be multiplied by 0.396 and 0.604, respectively, and added. The result will be the annual standards for toxics in terms of g/mi. Under an averaging scenario, the seasonal standards for toxics under the early use Complex Model have no relevance except insofar as they are needed to determine the annual standards. RFG standards determined under the early-use Complex Model must be given in terms of percent change from the statutory baseline before compliance calculations can be carried out per 80.67(g). In order to convert g/mi values into percent change from statutory baseline, the annual statutory baseline in g/mi must first be determined. Using the seasonal weightings given above, the annual statutory baseline values for toxics are 54.4937 g/mi and 54.0873 g/mi for VOC Control Regions 1and 2 respectively (VOC control region 1corresponds roughly to Area Class B, and VOC control region 2 corresponds roughly to Area Class C). 4. Question: When determining the emission standards under the early use Complex Model, what oxygenate should be used? Answer: For the purposes of setting the standards for RFG under 80.41(j), the oxygenate should be assumed to be MTBE to be consistent with the assumptions made during EPA's standards-setting process for the mandatory use of the Complex Model in 1998. 5. Question: Are the per-gallon limits for fuel benzene and oxygen still applicable under the early-use Complex Model? Answer: Yes. However, the Simple Model standards for RVP are not applicable under the early use Complex Model, unless compliance is being determined per the alternative Simple Model approach described in a 1/22/96 Q&A. 6. Question: When determining the standards under 80.41(j), subparagraph (2) indicates that the proper aromatics value is that value which, along with the fuel parameter standards for RVP, oxygen, and benzene specified in 80.41(j)(1), meets the Simple Model toxics standard given in either 80.41(a) or (b). However, the toxics standard is an annual standard, while there are separate Simple Model equations for summer and winter. How should this be handled? Answer: When determining the proper aromatics level which will meet the annual toxics standard under the Simple Model, the aromatics value should be kept the same in the summer and winter. The percent reduction in toxics calculated by the summer and winter versions of the Simple Model should be weighted by 0.396 and 0.604, respectively, to obtain the annual value. Since this calculation will be the same for everybody, the correct aromatics values are repeated below: Per gallon Averaging VOC Control Region 1 28.0 vol% 27.5 VOC Control Region 2 26.9 26.3 7. Question: When determining the RFG standards for early use of the Complex Model according to 80.41(j), should a refiner use the VOC Control Region designation (1 or 2) for the area in which its facility is located? Answer: No. Every refiner, blender, or importer should determine a separate set of early-use Complex Model RFG standards for VOC Control Regions 1 and 2. When determining compliance with those standards, every batch of RFG should be compared to the appropriate standards on the basis of its VOC Control Region designation. For example, if a given batch of early-use Complex Model RFG is designated for VOC Control Region 1, it should be compared to the VOC Control Regions 1 standards developed according to 80.41(j). An approach to compliance determinations which is mathematically identical to that given in 80.67(g), but which allows for different standards for VOC Control Regions 1 and 2, is shown below: COMPLIANCE TOTAL = ( Vi) * std1 + ( Vj) * std2 ACTUAL TOTAL = (Vi * parami)1 + (Vj * parami)2 where Vi = the volume of gasoline batch i which was designated for VOC Control Regions 1 Vj = the volume of gasoline batch j which was designated for VOC Control Regions 2 stdB = the VOC Control Region 1 standard for the parameter being evaluated stdC = the VOC Control Region 2 standard for the parameter being evaluated parami = the parameter value of gasoline batch i which was designated for VOC Control Region 1 paramj = the parameter value of gasoline batch j which was designated for VOC Control Region 2 This approach results in a single compliance calculation for VOC, toxics, and NOx compliance. The equations shown above would only be applicable under the early use of the Complex Model. Note that both the standards and the parameters must be given in terms of percent reduction from statutory baseline. 8. Question: Since those refiners, blenders, and importers whose compliance baseline is the statutory baseline will all have the same RFG standards under the early-use Complex Model, can EPA calculate these standards for the industry? These standards could also be used by refiners, blenders, and importers who have individual baselines as a means of verifying that their own calculations are being performed properly. Answer: The table below gives the RFG standards for any refiner, blender, or importer whose compliance baseline is the statutory baseline, and who chooses to comply under the early-use Complex Model. Notice that, contrary to the RFG standards applicable under mandatory use of the Complex Model beginning in 1998, the early-use standards are different for summer and winter RFG, and for VOC Control Regions 1 and 2. Early-Use Complex Model RFG Emissions Standards for refiners, blenders, or importers whose compliance baseline is the statutory baseline Per Gallon Standards VOC emissions Gasoline designated for VOC control region 1 Gasoline designated for VOC control region 2 Toxic air pollutants Gasoline designated for VOC control region 1 Gasoline designated for VOC control region 2 NOx emissions performance reduction Gasoline designated for VOC control region 1 Gasoline designated for VOC control region 2 Averaging Standards VOC emissions Gasoline designated for VOC control region 1 Per gallon minimum Gasoline designated for VOC control region 2 Per gallon minimum Toxic air pollutants Gasoline designated for VOC control region 1 Gasoline designated for VOC control region 2 NOx emissions Gasoline designated for VOC control region 1 Per gallon minimum Gasoline designated for VOC control region 2 Per gallon minimum Gasoline designated for VOC control region 1 Per gallon minimum Gasoline designated for VOC control region 2 Per gallon minimum Season Summer Summer Summer Winter Summer Winter Summer Winter Summer Winter Summer Summer Summer Summer Annual Annual Summer Summer Summer Summer Winter Winter Winter Winter % reduction from statutory. 34.57 14.91 25.69 11.61 22.81 12.59 1.32 -0.31 1.10 -0.09 36.57 32.57 17.11 13.11 17.95 17.60 1.46 -2.54 1.28 -2.72 -0.21 -4.21 0.04 -3.96 RFG UPDATE, MARCH 7, 1996 ANNOUNCEMENTS:  Independent labs selecting samples for analysis under the 10% independent analysis option: the last two digits of Monday's (3/4/96) closing point of the Dow Jones Industrial average are 15.  The "RFG Covered Area Code List" attachment for the instructions to the "Reformulated Gasoline Program Averaging Areas Report" (3520-20N) was accidentally excluded from the recent mailing of RFG/Anti-Dumping fourth quarter and annual reports. The list can be found in the files COVAREAS.TXT and COVAREAS.W51 in the Rulemaking: Fuels: Reformulated Gasoline file area of the TTN. Also, instructions for the RFG Toxic Emissions Performance Averaging Report (3520-20I) and RFG Benzene Content Averaging Report (3520-20J) were labeled "Draft Instructions". This was an error and has been corrected for future mailings. Contact Mike Marmen at 202-233-9028 with any questions.