Opinion ID: 599244
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Re-refined Oil

Text: 9 In October 1987, the EPA issued a proposed guideline for the procurement of re-refined oil. Guideline for Re-refined Oil Content in Oil Procured by the Federal Government (Proposed Rule), 52 Fed.Reg. 38,838 (1987). The proposed guideline stated that [t]his guideline does not apply to purchases which are not the direct result of a contract, grant, loan, funds disbursement, or agreement with a procuring agency. Id. at 38,849. 10 After notice and comment, the EPA issued a final re-refined oil guideline, Guideline for Federal Procurement of Lubricating Oils Containing Re-refined Oil (Final Rule), 53 Fed.Reg. 24,699 (1988) (codified at 40 C.F.R. § 252.1 et seq. (1992)). In the preamble to the final oil guideline, the EPA elaborated on its view of the scope of the applicability of the guideline, defining direct and indirect purchases by covered entities, to which the rule applies, as excluding incidental purchases by contractors or grant recipients, to which it does not: 11 However, the guideline does not apply to such [lubricating oil] purchases if they are unrelated to or incidental to the Federal funding, i.e., not the direct result of the grant, loan, or funds disbursement. An example of a lubricating oil purchase unrelated or incidental to Federal funding is where a contractor purchases an oil change for equipment under a grant for construction of a public works project. 12 Id. at 24,705. The final oil guideline provides no specific information on the price and availability of re-refined oil.