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41-2124. Area A; fuel reformulation; rules

(L05, Ch. 104, sec. 6. Conditionally Eff.)

A. All gasoline produced and shipped to or within this state and sold or offered for sale for use in motor vehicles in a county with a population of one million two hundred thousand or more persons and any portion of a county contained in area A, subject to an appropriate waiver granted by the administrator of the United States environmental protection agency pursuant to section 211(c)(4) of the clean air act as defined in section 49-401.01, shall comply with either of the following fuel reformulation options:

1. A gasoline that meets standards for federal phase II reformulated gasoline, as provided in 40 Code of Federal Regulations section 80.41, paragraphs (e) through (h), in effect on January 1, 1999, except that the minimum oxygen content standard does not apply. The gasoline shall also meet the maximum vapor pressure requirements in section 41-2083, subsections D and F.

2. California phase 3 reformulated gasoline, including alternative formulations allowed by the predictive model, as adopted by the California air resources board pursuant to California Code of Regulations title 13, sections 2261 through 2263, 2265 and 2266.5, in effect on May 1, 2003, including vapor pressure requirements contained in section 2262.4.

B. Beginning November 1 through January 31 of each year, all gasoline produced and shipped to or within this state and sold or offered for sale for use in motor vehicles in a county with a population of one million two hundred thousand or more persons and any portion of a county contained in area A, subject to an appropriate waiver granted by the administrator of the United States environmental protection agency pursuant to section 211(c)(4) of the clean air act as defined in section 49-401.01, shall comply with standards for California phase 3 reformulated gasoline, including alternative formulations allowed by the predictive model, as adopted by the California air resources board pursuant to California Code of Regulations title 13, sections 2261 through 2263, 2265 and 2266.5, in effect on May 1, 2003 and shall meet the maximum vapor pressure requirements in section 41-2083, subsections D and F. The fuel described in this subsection shall meet the requirements of section 41-2123, subsection A, paragraph 1.

C. For November 1, 2000 through January 31, 2001 and for each winter season of November through January thereafter, the director of the department of weights and measures shall determine the average levels of the constituents in the gasoline sold or offered for sale in area A and shall provide the results of this determination to the director of the department of environmental quality. The director of the department of environmental quality shall analyze the data provided by the director of the department of weights and measures and, no later than July 1, 2001 and each July thereafter, shall determine the average daily carbon monoxide reductions resulting from the use of the gasoline specified in subsection B of this section during the preceding winter season. If the average daily carbon monoxide reductions resulting from the use of the gasoline specified in subsection B of this section during the preceding winter season are less than ninety per cent of the goal of thirty-two tons per day in 2001, thirty-one tons per day in 2003, thirty tons per day in 2005, twenty-nine tons per day in 2007 or twenty-eight tons per day in 2009, the director of the department of environmental quality shall immediately notify the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives.

D. Any registered supplier or oxygenate blender, as defined in department rules, may petition the director to request that all registered suppliers or oxygenate blenders be allowed to comply with any provision of section 41-2123, subsection A, provided the petitioner can demonstrate that ethanol supply shortages are imminent.

E. The petition shall:

1. Identify specific supply conditions that will result in a shortage of ethanol.

2. Identify which oxygenate or oxygenates and the concentration that will be blended into gasoline for sale or use in area A.

3. Demonstrate that the alternative oxygenate blend comes closest to meeting a three and one-half per cent by weight oxygen content at reasonable cost, unless the registered supplier or oxygenate blender is petitioning to use a gasoline-ethanol blend containing less than ten per cent by volume of ethanol.

4. Specify a time period for compliance with any provision of section 41-2123, subsection A, not to exceed sixty days.

F. The director shall either grant or deny the petition in writing within seven days of its receipt. Any decision by the director to grant the petition shall be equally applicable to all registered suppliers or oxygenate blenders and shall not be selectively applied to any single registered supplier or oxygenate blender. The petition may be granted only if the director verifies that the basis for requesting the petition is factual.

G. The director may reauthorize a petition if the petitioner can demonstrate that the conditions have continued. The reauthorization of a petition shall not exceed thirty days.

H. The director of the department of weights and measures shall consult with the director of the department of environmental quality prior to granting, reauthorizing or denying any such petition.

I. The director of the department of environmental quality in consultation with the director of the department of weights and measures shall adopt by rule:

1. Requirements to implement subsections A through E of this section.

2. Requirements for record keeping, reporting and analytical methods for fuel providers to demonstrate compliance with subsections A through E of this section.

J. The director of the department of environmental quality in consultation with the director of the department of weights and measures shall adopt rules to implement this section to be consistent with applicable federal and California state fuel formulation rules to the extent practicable.

K. This section does not apply to fuel sold for use at a motor vehicle manufacturer proving ground or at a motor vehicle racing event.