(a)
(1) Separation of a RIN from a volume of renewable fuel means termination of the assignment of the RIN to a volume of renewable fuel.
(2) RINs that have been separated from volumes of renewable fuel become separated RINs subject to the provisions of § 80.1428(b).
(b) A RIN that is assigned to a volume of renewable fuel can be separated from that volume only under one of the following conditions:
(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (b)(7) and (b)(9) of this section, a party that is an obligated party according to § 80.1406 must separate any RINs that have been assigned to a volume of renewable fuel if that party owns that volume.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(6) of this section, any party that owns a volume of renewable fuel must separate any RINs that have been assigned to that volume once the volume is blended with gasoline or fossil-based diesel to produce a transportation fuel, heating oil, or jet fuel. A party may separate up to 2.5 RINs per gallon of blended renewable fuel.
(3) Any exporter of renewable fuel must separate any RINs that have been assigned to the exported renewable fuel volume. An exporter of renewable fuel may separate up to 2.5 RINs per gallon of exported renewable fuel.
(4) Any party that produces, imports, owns, sells, or uses a volume of neat renewable fuel, or a blend of renewable fuel and diesel fuel, must separate any RINs that have been assigned to that volume of neat renewable fuel or that blend if:
(i) The party designates the neat renewable fuel or blend as transportation fuel, heating oil, or jet fuel; and
(ii) The neat renewable fuel or blend is used without further blending, in the designated form, as transportation fuel, heating oil, or jet fuel.
(5) Any party that produces, imports, owns, sells, or uses a volume of electricity or biogas for which RINs have been generated in accordance with § 80.1426(f) must separate any RINs that have been assigned to that volume of renewable electricity or biogas if:
(i) The party designates the electricity or biogas as transportation fuel; and
(ii) The electricity or biogas is used as transportation fuel.
(6) RINs assigned to a volume of biodiesel (mono-alkyl ester) can only be separated from that volume pursuant to paragraph (b)(2) of this section if such biodiesel is blended into diesel fuel at a concentration of 80 volume percent biodiesel (mono-alkyl ester) or less.
(i) This paragraph (b)(6) shall not apply to biodiesel owned by obligated parties or to exported volumes of biodiesel.
(ii) This paragraph (b)(6) shall not apply to parties meeting the requirements of paragraph (b)(4) of this section.
(7) For RINs that an obligated party generates for renewable fuel that has not been blended into gasoline or diesel to produce a transportation fuel, heating oil, or jet fuel, the obligated party can only separate such RINs from volumes of renewable fuel if the number of gallon-RINs separated in a calendar year are less than or equal to a limit set as follows:
(i) For RINs with a D code of 3, the limit shall be equal to RVOCB.
(ii) For RINs with a D code of 4, the limit shall be equal to RVOBBD.
(iii) For RINs with a D code of 7, the limit shall be equal to the larger of RVOBBD or RVOCB.
(iv) For RINs with a D code of 5, the limit shall be equal to RVOAB−RVOCB−RVOBBD.
(v) For RINs with a D code of 6, the limit shall be equal to RVORF−RVOAB.
(8) Small refiners and small refineries may only separate RINs that have been assigned to volumes of renewable fuel that the party blends into gasoline or diesel to produce transportation fuel, heating oil, or jet fuel, or that the party used as transportation fuel, heating oil, or jet fuel. This paragraph (b)(8) shall apply only under the following conditions:
(i) During the calendar year in which the party has received a small refinery exemption under § 80.1441 or a small refiner exemption under § 80.1442; and
(ii) The party is not otherwise an obligated party during the period of time that the small refinery or small refiner exemption is in effect.
(9) Except as provided in paragraphs (b)(2) through (b)(5) and (b)(8) of this section, parties whose non-export renewable volume obligations are solely related to either the importation of products listed in § 80.1407(c) or § 80.1407(e) or to the addition of blendstocks into a volume of finished gasoline, finished diesel fuel, or BOB, can only separate RINs from volumes of renewable fuel if the number of gallon-RINs separated in a calendar year is less than or equal to a limit set as follows:
(i) For RINs with a D code of 3, the limit shall be equal to RVOCB.
(ii) For RINs with a D code of 4, the limit shall be equal to RVOBBD.
(iii) For RINs with a D code of 7, the limit shall be equal to the larger of RVOBBD or RVOCB.
(iv) For RINs with a D code of 5, the limit shall be equal to RVOAB−RVOCB−RVOBBD.
(v) For RINs with a D code of 6, the limit shall be equal to RVORF−RVOAB.
(10) Any party that produces a volume of renewable fuel may separate any RINs that have been generated to represent that volume of renewable fuel or that blend if that party retires the separated RINs to replace invalid RINs according to § 80.1474.
(c) The party responsible for separating a RIN from a volume of renewable fuel shall change the K code in the RIN from a value of 1 to a value of 2 prior to transferring the RIN to any other party.
(d) Upon and after separation of a RIN from its associated volume of renewable fuel, the separated RIN must be accompanied by a PTD pursuant to § 80.1453 when transferred to another party.
(e) Upon and after separation of a RIN from its associated volume of renewable fuel, product transfer documents used to transfer ownership of the volume must meet the requirements of § 80.1453.
[75 FR 14863, Mar. 26, 2010, as amended at 75 FR 26042, May 10, 2010; 77 FR 1355, Jan. 9, 2012; 79 FR 42115, July 18, 2014; 85 FR 7076, Feb. 6, 2020; 85 FR 78467, Dec. 4, 2020]