40 C.F.R. § 80.1406 : Protection of Environment — ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY — AIR PROGRAMS — REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES — RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD — Who is an obligated party under the RFS program?

(a)
(1) An obligated party is any refiner that produces gasoline or diesel fuel within the 48 contiguous states or Hawaii, or any importer that imports gasoline or diesel fuel into the 48 contiguous states or Hawaii during a compliance period. A party that simply blends renewable fuel into gasoline or diesel fuel, as defined in §80.1407(c) or (e), is not an obligated party.
(2) If the Administrator approves a petition of Alaska or a United States territory to opt-in to the renewable fuel program under the provisions in §80.1443, then "obligated party" shall also include any refiner that produces gasoline or diesel fuel within that state or territory, or any importer that imports gasoline or diesel fuel into that state or territory.
(b) For each compliance period starting with 2010, an obligated party is required to demonstrate, pursuant to §80.1427, that it has satisfied the Renewable Volume Obligations for that compliance period, as specified in §80.1407(a).
(c) Aggregation of facilities -
(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (c)(2), (d) and (e) of this section, an obligated party may comply with the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section in the aggregate for all of the refineries that it operates, or for each refinery individually.
(2) An obligated party that carries a deficit into year i+1 must use the same approach to aggregation of facilities in year i+1 as it did in year i.
(d) An obligated party must comply with the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section for all of its imported gasoline or diesel fuel in the aggregate.
(e) An obligated party that is both a refiner and importer must comply with the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section for its imported gasoline or diesel fuel separately from gasoline or diesel fuel produced by its domestic refinery or refineries.
(f) Where a refinery or import facility is jointly owned by two or more parties, the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section may be met by one of the joint owners for all of the gasoline or diesel fuel produced/imported at the facility, or each party may meet the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section for the portion of the gasoline or diesel fuel that it produces or imports, as long as all of the gasoline or diesel fuel produced/imported at the facility is accounted for in determining the Renewable Volume Obligations under §80.1407. In either case, all joint owners are subject to the liability provisions of §80.1461(d).
(g) The requirements in paragraph (b) of this section apply to the following compliance periods: Beginning in 2010, and every year thereafter, the compliance period is January 1 through December 31.

40 C.F.R. §80.1406

75 FR 14863, 3/26/2010, as amended at 75 FR 26037, 5/10/2010