Regulatory Announcement
 

Extension of the Summer Gasoline 

Volatility Standard to the DenverBoulder-Greeley-Fort CollinsLoveland, 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-BoulderGreely-Ft. Collins-Loveland, Colorado, 1997 8-hour Ozone Nonattainment 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 establishing a maximum RVP of 9.0 psi for gasoline sold during the high ozone season. It 

Office of Transportation and Air Quality 

EPA-420-F-09-018 

August 2009 
 

 

 

 

 

Regulatory Announcement
 

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-BoulderGreeley-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 


2