§ 80.235 - How does a refiner obtain approval as a small refiner?

§ 80.235 How does a refiner obtain approval as a small refiner?

(a) Applications for small refiner status must be submitted to EPA by December 31, 2000, except for applications submitted pursuant to § 80.225(d), which must be submitted by June 1, 2002.

(b) Applications for small refiner status must be sent to the attention of “Gasoline Sulfur Program (Small Refiner)” to the address in § 80.10(a).

(c) The small refiner status application must contain the following information for the company seeking small refiner status, plus any subsidiary companies, any parent company and subsidiaries of the parent company, and any joint venture partners:

(1)

(i) A listing of the name and address of each location where any employee worked during the 12 months preceding January 1, 1999; the average number of employees at each location based upon the number of employees for each pay period for the 12 months preceding January 1, 1999; and the type of business activities carried out at each location; or

(ii) In the case of a refiner who acquires a refinery after January 1, 1999, or reactivates a refinery that was shutdown between January 1, 1998, and January 1, 1999, a listing of the name and address of each location where any employee of the refiner worked since the refiner acquired or reactivated the refinery; the average number of employees at any such acquired or reactivated refinery during each calendar year since the refiner acquired or reactivated the refinery; and the type of business activities carried out at each location.

(2) The total corporate crude oil capacity of each refinery as reported to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), or, in the case of a foreign refiner, a comparable reputable source, such as a professional publication or trade journal. The information submitted to EIA or the comparable reputable source is presumed to be correct. In cases where a company, domestic or foreign, disagrees with this information, the company may petition EPA with appropriate data to correct the record within 60 days after the company submits its application for small refiner status.

(3) A letter signed by the president, chief operating or chief executive officer of the company, or his/her designee, stating that the information contained in the application is true to the best of his/her knowledge.

(4) Name, address, phone number, facsimile number and E-mail address (if available) of a corporate contact person.

(d) For joint ventures, the total number of employees includes the combined employee count of all corporate entities in the venture.

(e) For government-owned refiners, the total employee count includes all government employees.

(f) Approval of small refiner status for refiners who apply under § 80.225(d) will be based on all information submitted under paragraph (c) of this section. The information submitted must show that the refiner employed an average of no more than 1500 people and had an average crude oil capacity less than or equal to 155,000 bpcd. Where appropriate, the employee and crude oil capacity criteria for such refiners will be based on the most recent 12 months of operation.

(g) EPA will notify a refiner of approval or disapproval of small refiner status by letter.

(1) If approved, EPA will notify the refiner of each refinery's applicable annual average sulfur standard, baseline volume, and per-gallon cap standard under § 80.240 for the 2004-2007 averaging periods.

(2) If disapproved, the refiner must comply with the standards in § 80.195.

(h) If EPA finds that a refiner provided false or inaccurate information on its application for small refiner status, upon notice from EPA the refiner's small refiner status will be void ab initio.

(i) Upon notification to EPA, an approved small refiner may withdraw its status as a small refiner. Effective on January 1 of the year following such notification, the small refiner will become subject to the standards at § 80.195.

[65 FR 6823, Feb. 10, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 19307, Apr. 13, 2001; 85 FR 7073, Feb. 6, 2020]