§ 80.27 - Controls and prohibitions on gasoline volatility.

§ 80.27 Controls and prohibitions on gasoline volatility.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 85 FR 78467, Dec. 4, 2020.

(a)

(1) Prohibited activities in 1991. During the 1991 regulatory control periods, no refiner, importer, distributor, reseller, carrier, retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer shall sell, offer for sale, dispense, supply, offer for supply, or transport gasoline whose Reid vapor pressure exceeds the applicable standard. As used in this section and § 80.28, “applicable standard” means the standard listed in this paragraph for the geographical area and time period in which the gasoline is intended to be dispensed to motor vehicles or, if such area and time period cannot be determined, the standard listed in this paragraph that specifies the lowest Reid vapor pressure for the year in which the gasoline is being sampled. As used in this section and § 80.28, “regulatory control periods” mean June 1 to September 15 for retail outlets and wholesale purchaser-consumers and May 1 to September 15 for all other facilities.

Applicable Standards¹

State	May	June	July	Aug.	Sept.
Alabama	10.5	10.5	9.5	9.5	10.5
Arizona:
North of 34 degrees latitude and east of 111 degrees longitude	9.5	9.0	9.0	9.5	9.5
All areas except North of 34 degrees latitude and east of 111 degrees longitude	9.5	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.5
Arkansas	10.5	10.5	9.5	9.5	10.5
California:2
North Coast	10.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5
South Coast	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5
Southeast	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5
Interior	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5
Colorado	10.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5
Connecticut	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Delaware	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
District of Columbia	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Florida	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Georgia	10.5	10.5	9.5	9.5	10.5
Idaho	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Illinois:
North of 40° Latitude	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
South of 40° Latitude	10.5	10.5	9.5	9.5	10.5
Indiana	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Iowa	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Kansas	10.5	10.5	9.5	9.5	10.5
Kentucky	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Louisiana	10.5	10.5	9.5	9.5	10.5
Maine	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Maryland	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Massachusetts	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Michigan	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Minnesota	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Mississippi	10.5	10.5	9.5	9.5	10.5
Missouri	10.5	10.5	9.5	9.5	10.5
Montana	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Nebraska	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Nevada:
North of 38° Latitude	10.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5
South of 38° Latitude	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5
New Hampshire	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
New Jersey	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
New Mexico:
North of 34° Latitude	9.5	9.0	9.0	9.5	9.5
South of 34° Latitude	9.5	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.5
New York	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
North Carolina	10.5	10.5	9.5	9.5	10.5
North Dakota	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Ohio	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Oklahoma	10.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5
Oregon:
East of 122° Longitude	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
West of 122° Longitude	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Pennsylvania	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Rhode Island	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
South Carolina	10.5	10.5	9.5	9.5	10.5
South Dakota	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Tennessee	10.5	10.5	9.5	9.5	10.5
Texas:
East of 99° Longitude	9.5	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.5
West of 99° Longitude	9.5	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.5
Utah	10.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5
Vermont	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Virginia	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Washington:
East of 122° Longitude	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
West of 122° Longitude	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
West Virginia	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Wisconsin	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Wyoming	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5

¹ Standards are expressed in pounds per square inch (psi).

² California areas include the following counties:

North Coast - Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humbolt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, and Trinity.

Interior - Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Kern (except that portion lying east of the Los Angeles County Aqueduct), Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo, Yuba, and Nevada.

South Coast - Orange, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles (except that portion north of the San Gabriel mountain range and east of the Los Angeles County Aqueduct).

Southeast - Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles (that portion north of the San Gabriel mountain range and east of the Los Angeles County Aqueduct), Mono, Inyo, and Kern (that portion lying east of the Los Angeles County Aqueduct).

(2) Prohibited activities in 1992 and beyond. During the 1992 and later high ozone seasons no person, including without limitation, no retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer, and during the 1992 and later regulatory control periods, no refiner, importer, distributor, reseller, or carrier shall sell, offer for sale, dispense, supply, offer for supply, transport or introduce into commerce gasoline whose Reid vapor pressure exceeds the applicable standard. As used in this section and § 80.28, “applicable standard” means:

(i) 9.0 psi for all designated volatility attainment areas; and

(ii) The standard listed in this paragraph for the state and time period in which the gasoline is intended to be dispensed to motor vehicles for any designated volatility nonattainment area within such State or, if such area and time period cannot be determined, the standard listed in this paragraph that specifies the lowest Reid vapor pressure for the year in which the gasoline is sampled. Designated volatility attainment and designated volatility nonattainment areas and their exact boundaries are described in 40 CFR part 81, or such part as shall later be designated for that purpose. As used in this section and § 80.27, “high ozone season” means the period from June 1 to September 15 of any calendar year and “regulatory control period” means the period from May 1 to September 15 of any calendar year.

Applicable Standards¹ 1992 and Subsequent Years

State	May	June	July	August	September
Alabama8	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Arizona	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Arkansas	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
California	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Colorado2	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Connecticut	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Delaware	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
District of Columbia	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Florida:
Florida	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Southeast Florida, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville5	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Georgia13	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Idaho	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Illinois	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Indiana	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Iowa	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Kansas	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Kentucky	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Louisiana41112	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Maine	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Maryland	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Massachusetts	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Michigan	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Minnesota	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Mississippi	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Missouri	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Montana	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Nebraska	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Nevada	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
New Hampshire	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
New Jersey	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
New Mexico	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
New York	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
North Carolina679	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
North Dakota	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Ohio	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Oklahoma	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Oregon	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Pennsylvania	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Rhode Island	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
South Carolina3	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
South Dakota	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Tennessee10	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Texas	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Utah	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Vermont	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Virginia	9.0	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8
Washington	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
West Virginia	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Wisconsin	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0
Wyoming	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0

¹ Standards are expressed in pounds per square inch (psi).

² The Colorado Covered Area encompasses the Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft. Collins-Loveland, CO, 8-hour ozone nonattainment area (see 40 CFR part 81).

³ The standard for nonattainment areas in South Carolina from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 and 1993 was 7.8 psi.

⁴ The standard for Grant Parish from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 through 2007 was 7.8 psi.

⁵ The standard for Broward, Dade, Duval, Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Pinellas Counties from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 through 2013 was 7.8 psi.

⁶ The standard for Davidson, Forsyth and Guilford Counties and a portion of Davie County from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 through 2013 was 7.8 psi.

⁷ The standard for Durham and Wake Counties, and a portion of Dutchville Township in Granville County from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 through 2013 was 7.8 psi.

⁸ The standard for Jefferson and Shelby Counties from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 through July 2, 2015 was 7.8 psi.

⁹ The standard for Mecklenburg and Gaston Counties from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 through 2015 was 7.8 psi.

¹⁰ The standard for Knox County from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 through June 2, 1994 was 7.8 psi. The standard for the Middle Tennessee Area (Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson Counties) from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 through June 7, 2017 was 7.8 psi. The standard in Shelby County (Memphis Area) from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 through 2017 was 7.8 psi.

¹¹ The standard for the Louisiana parishes of Beauregard, Calcasieu, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Orleans, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, and St. Mary from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 through 2017 was 7.8 psi.

¹² The standard for the Louisiana parishes of East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Livingston, Ascension, and Iberville from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 through 2018 was 7.8 psi.

¹³ The federal standard for the Georgia counties of Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale from June 1 until September 15 in 1992 through 2019 was 7.8 psi.

(b) Determination of compliance. Compliance with the standards listed in paragraph (a) of this section shall be determined by the use of the sampling methodologies specified in § 80.8 and the testing methodology specified in § 80.46(c) until December 31, 2015, and § 80.47 beginning January 1, 2016.

(c) Liability. Liability for violations of paragraph (a) of this section shall be determined according to the provisions of § 80.28. Where the terms refiner, importer, distributor, reseller, carrier, ethanol blender, retailer, or wholesale purchaser-consumer are expressed in the singular in § 80.28, these terms shall include the plural.

(d) Special provisions for alcohol blends.

(1) Any gasoline which meets the requirements of paragraph (d)(2) of this section shall not be in violation of this section if its Reid vapor pressure does not exceed the applicable standard in paragraph (a) of this section by more than one pound per square inch (1.0 psi).

(2) In order to qualify for the special regulatory treatment specified in paragraph (d)(1) of this section, gasoline must contain denatured, anhydrous ethanol. The concentration of the ethanol, excluding the required denaturing agent, must be at least 9% and no more than 15% (by volume) of the gasoline. The ethanol content of the gasoline shall be determined by the use of one of the testing methodologies specified in § 80.47. The maximum ethanol content shall not exceed any applicable waiver conditions under section 211(f) of the Clean Air Act.

(3) Each invoice, loading ticket, bill of lading, delivery ticket and other document which accompanies a shipment of gasoline containing ethanol shall contain a legible and conspicuous statement that the gasoline being shipped contains ethanol and the percentage concentration of ethanol.

(e) Testing exemptions.

(1)

(i) Any person may request a testing exemption by submitting an application that includes all the information listed in paragraphs (e)(3) through (6) of this section to the attention of “Test Exemptions” to the address in § 80.10(a).

(ii) For purposes of this section, “testing exemption” means an exemption from the requirements of § 80.27(a) that is granted by the Administrator for the purpose of research or emissions certification.

(2)

(i) In order for a testing exemption to be granted, the applicant must demonstrate the following:

(A) The proposed test program has a purpose that constitutes an appropriate basis for exemption;

(B) The proposed test program necessitates the granting of an exemption;

(C) The proposed test program exhibits reasonableness in scope; and

(D) The proposed test program exhibits a degree of control consistent with the purpose of the program and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) monitoring requirements.

(ii) Paragraphs (e)(3), (4), (5) and (6) of this section describe what constitutes a sufficient demonstration for each of the four elements in paragraphs (e)(2)(i) (A) through (D) of this section.

(3) An appropriate purpose is limited to research or emissions certification. The testing exemption application must include a concise statement of the purpose(s) of the testing program.

(4) With respect to the necessity that an exemption be granted, the applicant must demonstrate an inability to achieve the stated purpose in a practicable manner, during a period of the year in which the volatility regulations do not apply, or without performing or causing to be performed one or more of the prohibited activities under § 80.27(a). If any site of the proposed test program is located in an area that has been classified by the Administrator as a nonattainment area for purposes of the ozone national ambient air quality standard, the application must also demonstrate an inability to perform the test program in an area that is not so classified.

(5) With respect to reasonableness, a test program must exhibit a duration of reasonable length, effect a reasonable number of vehicles or engines, and utilize a reasonable amount of high volatility fuel. In this regard, the testing exemption application must include:

(i) An estimate of the program's duration;

(ii) An estimate of the maximum number of vehicles or engines involved in the test program;

(iii) The time or mileage duration of the test program;

(iv) The range of volatility of the fuel (expressed in Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP)) expected to be used in the test program; and

(v) The quantity of fuel which exceeds the applicable standard that is expected to be used in the test program.

(6) With respect to control, a test program must be capable of affording EPA a monitoring capability. At a minimum, the testing exemption application must also include:

(i) The technical nature of the test program;

(ii) The site(s) of the test program (including the street address, city, county, State, and zip code);

(iii) The manner in which information on vehicles and engines used in the test program will be recorded and made available to the Administrator;

(iv) The manner in which results of the test program will be recorded and made available to the Administrator;

(v) The manner in which information on the fuel used in the test program (including RVP level(s), name, address, telephone number, and contact person of supplier, quantity, date received from the supplier) will be recorded and made available to the Administrator;

(vi) The manner in which the distribution pumps will be labeled to insure proper use of the test fuel;

(vii) The name, address, telephone number and title of the person(s) in the organization requesting a testing exemption from whom further information on the request may be obtained; and

(viii) The name, address, telephone number and title of the person(s) in the organization requesting a testing exemption who will be responsible for recording and making available to the Administrator the information specified in paragraphs (e)(6)(iii), (iv), and (v) of this section, and the location in which such information will be maintained.

(7) A testing exemption will be granted by the Administrator upon a demonstration that the requirements of paragraphs (e)(2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) of this section have been met. The testing exemption will be granted in the form of a memorandum of exemption signed by the applicant and the Administrator (or his delegate), which shall include such terms and conditions as the Administrator determines necessary to monitor the exemption and to carry out the purposes of this section. Any violation of such a term or condition shall cause the exemption to be void.

[54 FR 11883, Mar. 22, 1989]

Editorial Note

Editorial Note:

For Federal Register citations affecting § 80.27, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.govinfo.gov.