EPA Proposes to Approve Request from
Tennessee to Relax the Federal Summer
Gasoline Volatility Standard in Shelby
County (Memphis),Tennessee
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•	Tennessee previously requested that Shelby County be redesignated to attainment for
the 2008 ozone NAAQS. In that request, Tennessee took a conservative approach for
the maintenance plan demonstration by modeling 9.0 psi for the RVP requirements as
opposed to 7.8 psi. Tennessee did not, at that time, request the relaxation of the federal
RVP requirements for Shelby County. In April 2017, Tennessee requested a relaxation
of the federal RVP requirements. This necessitated a demonstration that relaxing the
federal RVP requirement from 7.8 psi to 9.0 psi for gasoline sold from June 1 to Sep-
tember 15 of each year in Shelby County would not interfere with maintenance of any
NAAQS, including the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS, or any other applicable CAA
requirement. Therefore, by a July 7, 2017 rulemaking, EPA Region 4 approved Tennes-
see's non-interference demonstration for its already approved maintenance plan for the
2008 ozone NAAQS.
•	Relaxing the volatility requirements for gasoline sold in the Memphis Area could be
beneficial because this action could improve the fungibility of gasoline in the Area. If
this proposed rulemaking becomes final and effective, the gasoline sold in the Memphis
Area can be identical to the fuel sold in the rest of Tennessee. For motorists, the change
in summertime gasoline volatility specifications would be virtually unnoticed.
Background
In 1987, EPA determined that gasoline nationwide had become increasingly volatile, causing an
increase in evaporative emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles and equipment. 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.
Ground-level ozone causes health problems, including damaged lung tissue, reduced lung func-
tion, and lung sensitization to other pollutants.
The most common measure of fuel volatility is RVP. To provide for cleaner air and greater public
health protection, EPA enforces maximum limits on the RVP of gasoline sold during the sum-
mer ozone season which runs from June 1 to September 15 of each year. Specifically, EPA's regu-
lations at 40 CFR 80.27(a)(2) establish maximum RVP standards of 9.0 psi or 7.8 psi depending
on the state, the month, and the area's initial designation with respect to the ozone NAAQS.
In order to relax the applicable federal RVP standard in an area where the more stringent federal
RVP of 7.8 psi is required, an area must be designated as (or redesignated to) attainment. The
area must also submit a maintenance plan demonstrating continued attainment of the ozone
NAAQS with the less stringent RVP standard in place.
EPA Region 4 previously approved the redesignation request and maintenance plan for the
portion of Tennessee that is within the Memphis, Tennessee-Mississippi-Arkansas (Memphis,
TN-MS-AR) 2008 ozone nonattainment area on June 23, 2016 (81 FR 40816). EPA approved
Tennessee's non-interference demonstration on July 7, 2017 (82 FR 31462).
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For More Information
You can access the rule and related documents on the EPA's Office of Transportation and
Air Quality Web site at: www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/gasolinefuels/volatility/index.htm
For further information on this NPRM, please contact:
David Dickinson
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
202-343-9256
E-mail: dickinson.david@epa.gov
Or
Rudy Kapichak
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
2000 Traverwood Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
734-214-4574
E-mail: kapichak.rudolph@epa.gov
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