Regulation of Fuel and Fuel Additives: Modification of Compliance Baseline

With today's action the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'', ``the Agency'', or ``we'') will allow the conventional gasoline emissions, from gasoline that a refiner sells in Puerto Rico in excess of its baseline volume of Puerto Rico gasoline, to be evaluated using only the summer version of the Complex Model. Additionally, the reformulated gasoline program's anti-dumping compliance baseline calculation will be modified. This modification will replace the annual average statutory baseline term with a summer statutory baseline term for purposes of evaluating a refiner's excess Puerto Rico gasoline. Finally, the summer Complex Model, which is more climatically appropriate for evaluating Puerto Rico gasoline, will replace the winter Complex Model for all baseline and compliance calculations for Puerto Rico gasoline. These provisions will apply to any refiner that has Puerto Rico gasoline in its individual baseline, has increased production of gasoline for sale in Puerto Rico above its individual baseline volume of Puerto Rico gasoline, and petitions the Agency to apply the modified compliance baseline to its Puerto Rico gasoline. Any refiner submitting such a petition must recalculate its individual baseline using the summer Complex Model for all Puerto Rico gasoline.