(a) A refiner may apply for relief from the requirements specified in §80.1230(a) or (b) for a refinery, if it can show that—

(1) Unusual circumstances exist that impose extreme hardship and significantly affect the ability to comply with the gasoline benzene standards at §80.1230(a) or (b) by the applicable date(s); and

(2) It has made best efforts to comply with the requirements of this subpart.

(b) A refiner must apply for and be approved for relief under this section.

(1) An application must include the following information:

(i) A plan demonstrating how the refiner will comply with the requirements of §80.1230(a) or (b), as applicable, as expeditiously as possible. The plan shall include a showing that contracts are or will be in place for engineering and construction of benzene reduction technology, a plan for applying for and obtaining any permits necessary for construction, a description of plans to obtain necessary capital, and a detailed estimate of when the requirements of §80.1230(a) or (b), as applicable, will be met.

(ii) A detailed description of the refinery configuration and operations including, at minimum, the following information:

(A) The refinery's total reformer unit throughput capacity;

(B) The refinery's total crude capacity;

(C) Total crude capacity of any other refineries owned by the same entity;

(D) Total volume of gasoline production at the refinery;

(E) Total volume of other refinery products;

(F) Geographic location(s) where the refinery's gasoline will be sold;

(G) Detailed descriptions of efforts to obtain capital for refinery investments;

(H) Bond rating of entity that owns the refinery; and

(I) Estimated capital investment needed to comply with the requirements of this subpart.

(iii) For a hardship related to complying with the requirement at §80.1230(a), detailed descriptions of efforts to obtain credits, including the prices of credits available, but deemed uneconomical by the refiner.

(2) Applicants must also provide any other relevant information requested by EPA.

(3) An application for relief from the requirements specified in §80.1230(b) must be submitted to EPA by January 1, 2008, or by January 1, 2013 for small refiners approved under §80.1340.

(c)

(1) Approval of a hardship application under this section for relief from the annual average benzene standard at §80.1230(a) shall be in the form of an extended period of deficit carry-forward, per §80.1230(c), for such period of time as EPA determines is appropriate.

(2) Approval of a hardship application under this section for relief from the maximum average benzene standard at §80.1230(b) shall be in the form of a waiver of the standard for such period of time as EPA determines is appropriate.

(3) EPA may deny any application for appropriate reasons, including unacceptable environmental impact.

(d) EPA may impose any other reasonable conditions on relief provided under this section, including rescinding, or reducing the length of, the extended deficit carry-forward period if conditions or situations change between approval of the hardship application and the end of the approved relief period.