The diesel sulfur regulations do not require that terminals include language in contracts to lessees, however terminal owners may find it useful to include such language to ensure that lessees fully understand their obligations as tenants. Whether or not a terminal owner includes such language in its leases, as stated in the preamble, the terminal owner has full responsibility over leased tanks and must ensure that its total volume balance- of all tanks within the terminal- meets the required balance at the end of a reporting period (see § 80.601).

Since the terminal owner is the responsible party, EPA reserves the right to take any appropriate enforcement action against the terminal owner. In addition, where the lessees have committed a prohibited act, for example by causing the terminal operator to commit a volume balance violation, or by distributing fuel that violates the sulfur standard, then EPA reserves the right to take any appropriate action against the lessees as well.

As in all cases, EPA will evaluate each case individually to determine the appropriate enforcement response.

Question and Answer was originally posted at Questions and Answers on the Clean Diesel Fuel Rules (PDF)(135 pp, 888 K, EPA420-B-06-010, July 2006, About PDF)