Extension of the Summer Gasoline
Volatility Standard to the Denver-
Boulder-Greeley-Fort Collins-
Loveland, Colorado, 1997 8-hour
Ozone Nonattainment Area
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing
regulations which would extend the federal summertime low
volatility requirements to those portions of the Denver-Boulder*
Greely-Ft. Collins-Loveland, Colorado, 1997 8-hour Ozone Nonat-
tainment Area not currently covered.
Summary of the Proposed Rule
The proposed rule would establish an applicable standard of 7.8 pounds per square
inch (psi) Reid vapor pressure (RVP) under the federal volatility control program
in the Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft. Collins-Loveland, Colorado, 1997 8-hour ozone
nonattainment area during the high ozone season - June 1st to September 15th of
each year-beginning in 2010. This action would require the use of 7.8 psi RVP gasoline
in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties,
and in portions of Larimer and Weld counties,
Background
Evaporative emissions from gasoline, referred to as volatile organic compounds
(VOCs), are precursors to the formation of tropospheric ozone and contribute to
the nation's ground-level ozone problem. Exposure to ground-level ozone can reduce
lung function (thereby aggravating asthma or other respiratory conditions), increase
susceptibility to respiratory infection, and may contribute to premature death in
people with heart and lung disease.
Section 211 (h) of the Clean Air Act requires EPA to promulgate regulations estab-
lishing a maximum RVP of 9.0 psi for gasoline sold during the high ozone season. It
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
Unliea OlaieS I-I->A on i-nn n n
Environmental Protection EPA-420-F-09-018
Agency August 2009
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also requires EPA to "establish more stringent Reid Vapor Pressure standards in a nonattainment
area as the Administrator finds necessary to generally achieve comparable evaporative emissions
(on a per-vehicle basis) in nonattainment areas, taking into consideration the enforceability of
such standards, the need of an area for emission control, and economic factors."
In today's action, EPA is proposing to establish an applicable standard for gasoline at 7.8 pounds
per square inch (psi)under the federal volatility control program in the Denver-Boulder-
Greeley-Ft. Collins-Loveland, Colorado, 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area (as codified in
volume 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 81) during the high ozone season,
beginning in 2010. This action would require the use of 7.8 psi RVP gasoline in Adams,
Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties, and in portions of
Larimer and Weld counties.
Gasoline with 7.8 psi RVP is already required in the former 1-hour ozone nonattainment area,
which represents a significant portion of the fuel used in the area. As a practical matter, the net
change proposed in this action extends the low RVP fuel requirement to portions of Larimer and
Weld counties and into the remaining portions of Arapahoe, Adams, Boulder and Broomfield
counties.
For More Information
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
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