United States Air and Radiation EPA420-F-98-037
Environmental Protection September 1998
Agency
Office of Mobile Sources
v>EPA Regulatory
Announcement
St. Louis, Missouri, Added to the
Federal Reformulated Gasoline
Program
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking to include the St. Louis, Missouri, ozone
nonattainment area in the federal reformulated gasoline (RFG)
program. This rulemaking will require retail stations to sell federal RFG
in the St. Louis area by June 1, 1999.
Background
The Clean Air Act requires EPA to establish standards for RFG to be
used in specified ozone nonattainment areas. The Act also provides that
ozone nonattainment areas classified as marginal, moderate, serious, or
severe may be included in the RFG program upon application of the
governor of the state in which the area is located. EPA is required to
establish an implementation date for the area to be included in the pro-
gram within a year of the governor's request.
St. Louis, Missouri, is currently classified as a moderate ozone nonattain-
ment area. The St. Louis area continues to exceed the National Ambient
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone, and faces the possibility of
being "bumped up" to a serious classification. In order to address these
concerns and identify the best possible options for addressing the area's
air quality problems, the state consulted both industry and environmental
representatives. The state identified several options and ultimately de-
cided to support the use of federal RFG. On July 13, 1998, EPA received
a letter from Governor Carnahan of Missouri officially requesting that the
St. Louis area be included in the federal reformulated gasoline program.
I Printed on Recycled Paper
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and
Benefits
RFG protects health and the environment
by reducing harmful vehicle emissions of
ozone-forming compounds and air toxics.
RFG produces 15 to 17 percent less pollu-
tion than conventional gasoline. Therefore,
there will be less smog-forming ground-
level ozone to damage sensitive lung tissue
and make it harder for the lungs to func-
tion. Ozone exposure is especially danger-
ous to children, the elderly, and people
with lung diseases like asthma, bronchitis,
and emphysema.
Air toxics from tailpipe emissions or
gasoline vapors also can be harmful. Some
of the toxic compounds in gasoline (e.g.,
benzene) and compounds created when
gasoline is burned in the engine are known
or believed to cause cancer. RFG is pro-
duced with smaller amounts of benzene
than in previous gasolines, so there is less
to get into the air around us.
This proposed rule would expand the
federal program to include the St. Louis
ozone nonattainment area and thereby
provide these benefits to the citizens of St.
Louis. These benefits are an important part
of the area's air quality plan and provide
needed additional emission reductions to
help the area reach attainment of the ozone
NAAQS.
RFG requirements. The RFG regulations
impose requirements such as sampling and
testing, registration, record keeping, report-
ing, product transfer documentation, and
compliance surveys.
For
Additional documents on the RFG program
are available electronically from the EPA
Internet server at:
http ://www. epa. gov/om s/rfg. htm
For further information on this rulemaking,
please contact Karen Smith at:
U.S. EPA
Office of Mobile Sources (6406J)
401 M Street SW
Washington, DC 20460
202-564-9674
on
Refiners, importers, and oxygenate blend-
ers who produce or import RFG for use in
the St. Louis ozone nonattainment area as a
result of this rule would be subject to the
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