U.S. EPA has granted Genscape Inc. an extension to respond to the agency’s Jan. 4 notice of intent to revoke the company’s ability to verify renewable identification number (RIN) credits as a third-party auditor under the Renewable Fuel Standard Quality Assurance Program. Genscape now has until April 18 to respond to EPA.

EPA stated this action of revocation is being pursued to hold Genscape accountable for failing to meet all elements of its approved QAP plan, and for verifying millions of RINs that were fraudulently generated by Gen-X Energy Group Inc. and Southern Resources and Commodities LLC.

The agency will evaluate Genscape’s submission and make a determination “no sooner than May 18” on a course of action that could ultimately revoke Genscape’s registration and QAP-A—the more costly QAP program option that applied to the interim period before EPA finalized the QAP rule and did away with A and B options.

At the same time, EPA will also determine the applicability of the RIN replacement cap (40 C.F.R. 80.147(d)), which, by statute, does not apply “when invalid verified RINs are a result of auditor error, omission, negligence, fraud or collusion with the renewable fuel producer, or a failure to implement the QAP properly or fully.”

EPA stated it is working separately with Genscape to address its compliance with 40 C.F.R.  80.1470(c), the cap on RIN replacement for independent third-party auditors of A-RINs, which would be 2 percent for A-RINs generated during the interim period.

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