EPA Approves Request from Georgia
to Relax the Federal Summer Gasoline
Volatility Standard in the Atlanta
RVP Area
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•	Starting on June 1, 2020, gasoline introduced into commerce in the Atlanta RVP Area
during the summer ozone season will no longer be subject to the federal RVP require-
ment of 7.8 psi and must instead meet the federal 9.0 psi requirement.
•	This final rule is in response to an August 15, 2018 request from Georgia that included
a section 175A maintenance plan revision and CAA section 110(1) non-interference
demonstration to EPA. EPA proposed to approve the maintenance plan revision and
demonstration on February 12, 2019 (84 FR 3358) and finalized that approval on April
23, 2019 (84 FR 16786) based upon its determination that the proposed change to
the federal gasoline RVP regulations for the Atlanta RVP Area will not interfere with
the continued maintenance of the 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standard
(NAAQS), the timely attainment of the 2015 ozone NAAQS, or any other applicable
provisions of the CAA.
•	Relaxing the volatility requirements for gasoline sold in the Atlanta RVP Area could be
beneficial because this action will improve the fungibility of gasoline in Georgia. The
gasoline sold in the Atlanta RVP Area can be identical to the fuel now sold in the rest
of Georgia. 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
function, 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 summer ozone season which runs from June 1 to September 15 of each year. Specifically,
EPA's regulations 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 ozone designation with respect to the
ozone NAAQS.
To relax the applicable federal RVP standard in an area where the more stringent federal RVP of
7.8 psi is required, an area should be designated as (or redesignated to) attainment. If the redes-
ignated area is still covered by a Clean Air Act (CAA) section 175A maintenance plan, then it
must also submit a revised maintenance plan demonstrating continued attainment of the ozone
NAAQS with the less stringent RVP standard in place. EPA also believes it appropriate to
approve an RVP relaxation in an area that is nonattainment for an ozone NAAQS if the state
demonstrates that the area would timely attain the ozone NAAQS and provides any new
necessary measures to control emissions to offset the change in VOC and nitrogen oxides
(NOx) emissions.
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The 13 counties covered by this final rule (the Atlanta RVP Area) are part of a 15-county
area that was redesignated to attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS on June 2, 2017 (82 FR
25523). Seven counties of the Atlanta RVP Area have been designated nonattainment for the
more stringent 2015 ozone NAAQS on June 4, 2018 (83 FR 25776). When the ozone nonat-
tainment area was redesignated to attainment for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, the State assumed
7.8 RVP summertime fuel as part of its maintenance plan. For EPA to act on Georgia's sub-
sequent request to relax the summertime RVP requirement from 7.8 psi to 9.0 psi, the State
needed to revise the approved CAA section 175A maintenance plan and submit a section
110(1) noninterference demonstration for the 2008 ozone maintenance area showing that the
higher RVP fuel would not interfere with the area's ability to maintain attainment of the stan-
dard or any other applicable CAA requirements. Georgia was also required to address the 2015
ozone NAAQS in the section 110(1) noninterference demonstration to demonstrate that the
higher RVP fuel would not interfere with the area's ability to timely attain the standard or any
other applicable CAA requirements.
For More Information
You can access the proposed rule and related documents on 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
12000 Pennsylvania Ave 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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