Adding the Illinois portion of the
St. Louis, Illinois-Missouri Ozone
Nonattainment Area to the Federal
Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) Program
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adopting
regulations that extend the Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) Pro-
gram to the Illinois portion of the St. Louis, Illinois-Missouri Ozone
Nonattainment Area.
Summary of the Final Rule
This Final Rule responds to the Governor of Illinois' July 10, 2006, request to have
the Illinois portion of the St. Louis, Illinois-Missouri ozone nonattainment area opt
into the Federal RFG program. Section 211(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act states that
"[u]pon the application of the Governor of a State, the Administrator shall apply
the prohibition" against the sale of conventional gasoline in any area of the State
classified as marginal, moderate, serious, or severe for ozone.
EPA consulted with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and evaluated the
industry's ability to meet the volumes necessary for implementation. Based on our
evaluation of the appropriate lead time and start date(s), this Final Rule sets an
effective start date for RFG (prohibition on the sale of a gasoline that is not RFG).
The Agency will implement this prohibition for refiners and all other persons in
the fuel distribution system other than retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers
on June 1, 2007. For retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers, EPA's final rule
implements the prohibition on July 1, 2007. As of July 1, 2007 this area will be
treated as a covered area for all purposes of the federal RFG program.
Background
The federal RFG program typically results in reductions in ozone-forming
emissions and air toxics. Reductions in ozone precursors are environmentally
significant because they lead to reductions in ozone formation, with the associated
improvements in human health and welfare. Exposure to ground-level ozone
(or smog) can cause respiratory problems, chest pain, and coughing and may
worsen bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. Animal studies suggest that long-
term exposure (months to years) to ozone can damage lung tissue and may lead
to chronic respiratory illness. Reductions in emissions of toxic air pollutants are
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
United States
Environmental Protection EPA420-F-07-040
Agency Apri| 2Q07
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environmentally important because they carry significant benefits for human health and welfare
primarily by reducing the number of cancer cases each year.
Illinois EPA analyzed the emissions benefits which could be achieved by switching from
conventional gasoline to RFG. Using the U.S. EPA's MOBILE6a model, Illinois projected that
by 2010 motor vehicle emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) could be reduced by
5.4 percent and carbon monoxide by 2.2 percent. The use of RFG in the Metro-East area would
also decrease benzene emissions by 75 tons per year, which equates to a 44 percent reduction
from motor vehicles. On a total toxic emissions basis, the use of RFG would reduce emissions of
the five primary motor vehicle related air toxics by 63 tons per year in 2010, a total percentage
reduction of 23.5 percent.
Under section 211(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act, the Administrator of EPA shall require the
sale of reformulated gasoline (RFG) in an ozone nonattainment area classified as marginal,
moderate, serious or severe upon the application of the Governor of the state in which the
nonattainment area is located. EPA received an application July 10, 2006, from the Honorable
Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor of the State of Illinois, for the Illinois portion of the St. Louis,
Illinois-Missouri ozone nonattainment area to be included in the reformulated gasoline program.
Although section 211(k)(6) provides EPA some discretion to establish the effective date for the
application of RFG requirements in marginal, moderate, serious or severe ozone nonattainment
areas subject to a Governor's petition, and allows EPA to consider whether there is sufficient
domestic capacity to produce RFG in establishing the effective date for such requirements, EPA
does not have discretion to deny a Governor's request.
EPA believes the implementation dates adopted in this rule achieve a reasonable balance
between requiring the earliest possible start dates to achieve air quality benefits in the Illinois
portion of the St. Louis, Illinois-Missouri ozone nonattainment area and providing adequate
lead time for industry to prepare for program implementation. These dates will provide
environmental benefits by allowing East St. Louis to achieve VOC reduction benefits for most of
the 2007 VOC control season.
For More Information
You can access documents on this final rule on EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality
Web site at:
www. epag.gov/otaq/rfg_regs.htm
For further information on this rulemaking, please contact Kurt Gustafson at:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Transportation & Air Quality
1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW (6406J)
Washington, DC 20460
(202) 343-9219
E-mail: gustafson.kurt@epa.gov
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
Federal Reformulated Gasoline Program 2
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