EPA Issues Final Rule for the Regulation
of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Extension of
the Reformulated Gasoline Program to
Maine's Southern Counties
The EPA is extending the Clean Air Act (CAA) prohibition
against the sale of conventional gasoline in reformulated gasoline
(RFG) areas to the southern Maine counties of York, Cumberland,
Sagadahoc, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Knox, and Lincoln (the "South'
ern Maine Counties")* This final rule is based on a request from the
Governor of the State of Maine for areas within the ozone transport
region established under CAA section 184. The scope of the EPAs
discretion is limited to establishing the date that the prohibition com'
mences. Consistent with the Governor's request, this prohibition will
commence in the affected RFG area as of May 1, 2015 for refiners,
importers, and distributors and as of June 1, 2015 for retailers and
wholesale purchaser-consumers.
The EPA has updated its RFG opt-out rules to add a provision reflecting that there
is a four-year minimum opt-in period for areas that opt into the RFG program on the
basis of their location within the ozone transport zone. This clarification aligns the
federal regulation for RFG opt-out requirements with the CAA.
Key Elements of the Final Rule
• The EPA is extending the CAA prohibition against the sale of conventional
gasoline in RFG areas to the Southern Maine Counties to commence as of
May 1, 2015 for refiners, importers, and distributors, and as of June 1, 2015 for
retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers. Only RFG may be sold to con-
sumers in the Southern Maine Counties as of June 1, 2015.
• In its August 28, 2014 proposed rule (79 FR 51288), the EPA requested com-
ment regarding whether there would be sufficient capacity to supply RFG
to these seven counties as of May 1, 2015 for entities other than retailers and
United Slaws
Environmental Protection
L Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
EPA-420-F-15-013
January 2015
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wholesale purchaser-consumers and as of June 1, 2015 for retailers and purchaser-consumers.
No comments were received in response to the proposed rule, and the EPA is finalizing
the rule as proposed.
• Finally, the EPA has updated its REG opt-out regulation to align it with the CAA prohi-
bition against opting out of the REG program for four years after the commencement
date of the opt-in. This statutory requirement is based on an area's location within the
ozone transport region.
Background
The purpose of the federal REG program is to improve air quality in certain areas through the
use of gasoline that is reformulated to reduce motor vehicle emissions of tropospheric ozone-
forming compounds, as set forth in CAA section 211(k)(l). The EPA first published regulations
for the federal REG program on February 16, 1994. (59 FR 7716).
CAA section 211 (k)(6)(B) provides that when the Governor of a State petitions the EPA to
opt into the federal REG program any area of the state that is in the ozone transport region
established under CAA section 184, the EPA is to apply the prohibition against selling or
dispensing of conventional gasoline in the subject area. However, CAA section 211(k)(6)(B)
(iii) gives the EPA discretion in extending the commencement date by one year with the option
to renew that extension for two additional one-year periods if the EPA determines that there is
insufficient capacity to supply REG to the area.
In 2013, the State of Maine enacted a law establishing the use of REG in the Southern Maine
Counties beginning May 1, 2014. On July 23, 2013, the Governor of Maine formally requested
that the EPA extend the requirement for the sale of REG to these counties beginning on May 1,
2014.
The Maine legislature subsequently enacted an emergency law, effective March 6, 2014 to post-
pone the requirement for the sale of REG in the Southern Maine Counties until June 1, 2015.
Pursuant to that legislation, the Commissioner for the State of Maine modified Maine's request
for the implementation date for the sale of REG in these counties to coincide with June 1, 2015.
Consistent with the Governor's request, in an August 28, 2014 Federal Register notice (79 FR
51288), the EPA proposed to extend the CAA prohibition against the sale of conventional
gasoline in REG areas to the Southern Maine Counties to commence as of May 1, 2015 for
refiners, importers, and distributors, and as of June 1, 2015 for retailers and wholesale purchaser-
consumers. No comments were received in response to this Federal Register notice. Thus, the
EPA is finalizing the rule as proposed.
The EPA has also updated its REG opt-out regulation at 40 CFR 80.72 to add a provision align-
ing it with the CAA section 211(k)(6)(B)(ii)(II) prohibition against opting out of the REG
program for four years after the commencement date of the opt-in. This statutory requirement is
based on an area's location within the ozone transport region.
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For More Information
You can access the proposed and final rule and related documents on the EPA's Office of
Transportation and Air Quality Web site at:
www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/gasolinefuels/rfg/regulations.htm
For further information on this final rule, please contact:
Patty Klavon
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
2000 Traverwood Drive
Ann Arbor, MI48105
734-214-4476
E-mail: klavon.patty@epa.gov
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