§ 79.56 Fuel and fuel additive grouping system.
(a) Manufacturers of fuels and fuel additives are allowed to satisfy the testing requirements in §§ 79.52, 79.53, and 79.54 and the associated reporting requirements in § 79.59 on an individual or group basis, provided that such products meet the criteria in this section for enrollment in the same fuel/additive group. However, each manufacturer of a fuel or fuel additive must individually comply with the notification requirements of § 79.59(b). Further, if a manufacturer elects to comply by participation in a group, each manufacturer continues to be individually subject to the information requirements of this subpart.
(1) The use of the grouping provision to comply with Tier 1 and Tier 2 testing requirements is voluntary. No manufacturer is prohibited from testing and submitting its own data for its own product registration, despite its qualification for membership in a particular group.
(2) The only groups permitted are those established in this section.
(b) Each manufacturer who chooses to enroll a fuel or fuel additive in a group of similar fuels and fuel additives as designated in this section may satisfy the registration requirements through a group submission of jointly-sponsored testing and analysis conducted on a product which is representative of all products in that group, provided that the group representative is chosen according to the specifications in this section.
(1) The health effects information submitted by a group shall be considered applicable to all fuels and fuel additives in the group. A fuel or fuel additive manufacturer who has chosen to participate in a group may subsequently choose to perform testing of such fuel or fuel additive on an individual basis; however, until such independent registration information has been received and reviewed by EPA, the information initially submitted by the group on behalf of the manufacturer's fuel or fuel additive shall be considered applicable and valid for that fuel or fuel additive. It could therefore be used to support requirements for further testing under the provisions of Tier 3 or to support regulatory decisions affecting that fuel or fuel additive.
(2) Manufacturers are responsible for determining the appropriate groups for their products according to the criteria in this section and for enrolling their products into those groups under industry-sponsored or other independent brokering arrangements.
(3) Manufacturers who enroll a fuel or fuel additive into a group shall share the applicable costs according to appropriate arrangements established by the group. The organization and administration of group functions and the development of cost-sharing arrangements are the responsibility of the participating manufacturers. If manufacturers are unable to agree on fair and equitable cost sharing arrangements and if such dispute is referred by one or more manufacturers to EPA for resolution, then the provisions in § 79.56(c) (1) and (2) shall apply.
(c) In complying with the registration requirements for a given fuel or fuel additive, notwithstanding the enrollment of such fuel or additive in a group, a manufacturer may make use of available information for any product which conforms to the same grouping criteria as the given product. If, for this purpose, a manufacturer wishes to rely upon the information previously submitted by another manufacturer (or group of manufacturers) for registration of a similar product (or group of products), then the previous submitter is entitled to reimbursement by the manufacturer for an appropriate portion of the applicable costs incurred to obtain and report such information. Such entitlement shall remain in effect for a period of fifteen years following the date on which the original information was submitted. Pursuant to § 79.59(b)(4)(ii), the manufacturer who relies on previously-submitted registration data shall certify to EPA that the original submitter has been notified and that appropriate reimbursement arrangements have been made.
(1) When private efforts have failed to resolve a dispute about a fair amount or method of cost-sharing or reimbursement for testing costs incurred under this subpart, then any party involved in that dispute may initiate a hearing by filing two signed copies of a request for a hearing with a regional office of the American Arbitration Association and mailing a copy of the request to EPA. A copy must also be sent to each person from whom the filing party seeks reimbursement or who seeks reimbursement from that party. The information and fees to be included in the request for hearing are specified in 40 CFR 791.20(b) and (c).
(2) Additional procedures and requirements governing the hearing process are those specified in 40 CFR 791.22 through 791.50, 791.60, 791.85, and 791.105, excluding 40 CFR 791.39(a)(3) and 791.48(d).
(d) Basis for classification. (1) Rather than segregating fuels and fuel additives into separate groups, the grouping system applies the same grouping criteria and creates a single set of groups applicable both to fuels and fuel additives.
(2) Fuels shall be classified pursuant to § 79.56(e) into categories and groups of similar fuels and fuel additives according to the components and characteristics of such fuels in their uncombusted state. The classification of a fuel product must take into account the components of all bulk fuel additives which are listed in the registration application or basic registration data submitted for the fuel product.
(3) Fuel additives shall be classified pursuant to § 79.56(e) into categories and groups of similar fuels and fuel additives according to the components and characteristics of the respective uncombusted additive/base fuel mixture pursuant to § 79.51(h)(1).
(4) In determining the category and group to which a fuel or fuel additive belongs, impurities present in trace amounts shall be ignored unless otherwise noted. Impurities are those substances which are present through contamination or which remain in the fuel or additive naturally after processing is completed.
(5) Reference standards. (i) American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard D 4814-93a, “Standard Specification for Automotive Spark-Ignition Engine Fuel”, used to define the general characteristics of gasoline fuels (paragraph (e)(3)(i)(A)(3) of this section) and ASTM standard D 975-93, “Standard Specification for Diesel Fuel Oils”, used to define the general characteristics of diesel fuels (paragraph (e)(3)(ii)(A)(3) of this section) have been incorporated by reference.
(ii) This incorporation by reference was approved by the Director of the Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. Copies may be obtained from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Copies may be inspected at U.S. EPA, OAR, 401 M Street SW., Washington, DC 20460 or at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html.
(e) Grouping criteria. The grouping system is represented by a matrix of three fuel/additive categories within six specified fuel families (see table F94-7, Grouping System for Fuels and Fuel Additives). Each category may include one or more groups. Within each group, a representative may be designated based on the criteria in this section and joint registration information may be developed and submitted for member fuels and fuel additives.