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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