Regulatory Announcement 

EPA Proposes to Approve Request 

from Louisiana to Relax the Federal 

Summer Gasoline Volatility Standard 

in Baton Rouge 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to relax the federal Reid 

Vapor Pressure (RVP) standard applicable to gasoline sold in the fve 

Louisiana parishes of East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Livingston, Ascension, and Iberville (the Baton Rouge area). This action 

proposes to amend EPA’s regulations to relax the RVP standard from 

7.8 pounds per square inch (psi) to 9.0 psi for gasoline sold during 

the summer ozone season. 

As part of the request to relax the RVP standard in the Baton Rouge 

area, Louisiana requested a revision of the area’s maintenance plan for 

the 2008 ozone NAAQS that included a demonstration that the RVP 

relaxation would not interfere with maintenance of the applicable 

national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) in the Baton Rouge 

area or with any other applicable requirement of the Clean Air Act 

(CAA). EPA Region 6 recently fnalized a concurrent rulemaking on the 

state’s maintenance plan revision. EPA may fnalize the RVP relaxation 

rulemaking after considering any comments received during the public 

comment period for the current proposal. 

Key Elements of the NPRM 

• This rulemaking proposes to relax the volatility requirements for gasoline 

sold in the Baton Rouge area, during the summer ozone season which runs 

from June 1 to September 15 of each year. Specifcally, this NPRM proposes 

to amend the federal RVP gasoline standard for the fve parishes in the Baton 

Rouge area from 7.8 psi to 9.0 psi provided at 40 CFR 80.27(a)(2). 

Offce of Transportation and Air Quality 

EPA-420-F-18-012 

June 2018 
Regulatory Announcement

• This proposed rulemaking is in response to an April 10, 2017 request from Louisiana to 

relax the federal summertime gasoline volatility requirements for 16 parishes, including 

the fve parishes covered by this proposed action. EPA approved Louisiana’s request to 

relax summertime gasoline volatility requirements for the other 11 parishes in a separate 

rulemaking on December 26, 2017 (82 FR 60886). 

• Louisiana submitted a CAA section 175A maintenance plan revision with a section 

110(l) non-interference demonstration to EPA on January 30, 2018. EPA proposed the 

approval of the State’s submission on April 13, 2018 (83 FR 16017) and fnalized that 

approval on May 25, 2018 (83 FR 24226). The maintenance plan revision rulemaking 

concluded that the relaxation of the federal RVP gasoline requirement would not interfere with continued maintenance of the 2008 ozone NAAQS or any other applicable 

NAAQS, including the 2015 ozone NAAQS. Now that the maintenance plan revision 

and non-interference demonstration have been approved EPA is proceeding with proposing approval of relaxing the RVP standard in the Baton Rouge area. 

• Relaxing the volatility requirements for gasoline sold in the fve Louisiana parishes could 

be benefcial because this action would improve the fungibility of gasoline in the Baton 

Rouge area meaning that if this proposed rulemaking becomes fnal and effective, the 

gasoline sold in the fve parishes can be identical to the fuel now sold in the parishes 

surrounding Baton Rouge as well as in the rest of Louisiana. For motorists, the change in 

summertime gasoline volatility specifcations 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. Specifcally, 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 

National Ambient Air Quality Standard (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 must be designated as (or redesignated to) attainment. If the redesignated area is still covered by a Clean Air Act (CAA) section 175A maintenance plan requirement, then it must also submit a revised maintenance plan demonstrating continued attainment 

of the ozone NAAQS with the less stringent RVP standard in place. 

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Regulatory Announcement

The fve parishes covered by the proposed rule were redesignated to attainment for the 2008 

ozone NAAQS on December 27, 2016 (81 FR 95051) and have been designated attainment/ 

unclassifable for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. When the Baton Rouge 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 Louisiana’s subsequent 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(l) non-interference demonstration for the 

Baton Rouge area showing that the higher RVP fuel would not interfere with the area’s ability to 

maintain attainment of the standard or any other applicable CAA requirements. 

For More Information 

You can access the rule and related documents on EPA’s Offce 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: 

Dave Sosnowski 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Offce of Transportation and Air Quality 

2000 Traverwood Drive 

Ann Arbor, MI 48105 

734-214-4823 

E-mail: sosnowski.dave@epa.gov 

Or 

Rudy Kapichak 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Offce 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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