P.1 

OAR Box 1850 

Prepped by Ollie Stewart 

Document Number: 

77) IV-B-7 

Docket Number: 

A-90-07 

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[mj UNITEO 8TATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 

MAY 2 6 B94 

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MAY 2 7 1994 

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MEMORANDUM 

Subject: 

From: 

Through: 

To: 

Review of Notifications Submitted Pursuant to 40* CFR 79 

for Compliance with the "Substantially Similar" Rule for . 

Unleaded Gasoline j / ^^ ^<_^_V 

James W. Caldwell, Chief, Fuels Sectio£/ $^6, ^T 

David J. Kortum, Chief, fij CUMCJ Q- /^*>Z^CZ~-A— r/iKy/fy 

Field Operations and Compliance Policy Branch 

Mary T. Smith, Director, 

Field Operations and Support Division 

At your request, I have prepared this summary of the relation 

between the Agency's administration of the registration program for 

fuels and fuel additives and implementation of the statutory 

prohibitions on use in unleaded gasoline of fuels and fuel 

additives which are not "substantially similar" to certification 

fuel. Initially, EPA's office of Research and Development (ORD) 

managed the registration activities associated with the section 211 

registration requirements. After promulgation of the 

"Substantially Similar" rule1 in 1981, I worked closely (via 

telephone) with ORD to see that unleaded gasolines were not 

registered unless they complied with the rule. I reviewed the rule 

carefully with both the ORD employee and, later, the contractor who 

actually handled the registration of fuels and additives on a dayto-day basis. I stressed the importance of checking the additives 

listed on the fuel manufacturer notification forms to ascertain 

that no additives which did not comply with the "substantially 

similar" definition were included in unleaded gasoline 

registrations. The forms were reviewed by EPA and its contractors 

in consultation with ORD chemists and the Fuels Section within the 

Office of Mobile Sources. 

When the registration program (and associated contractor 

activities) were transferred to the Field Operations and Support 

1 The "substantially similar" rule defined what was meant 

by the reference to "substantially similar to [certification] fuel" 

in section 211(f)(1). Fuels and additives not substantially 

similar to certification fuels and additives were prohibited by 

this section. 

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Division in 1986, I instituted an additional level of review. Once 

the contractor had finished his review, I required that each 

notification also be reviewed by a technical member of the Fuels 

Section. I instructed each member of my staff who reviewed 

notifications to check unleaded gasolines for "substantially 

similar" compliance, in addition to the other requirements set 

forth in 40 CFR Part 79. This involved, in part, reviewing the 

composition of each additive listed for use in unleaded gasoline 

for compliance with the substantially similar rule. Manufacturers 

who listed non-substantially similar additives were called and told 

that their unleaded gasolines would not be registered. (No letters 

were sent.) 

The review of additive notifications was problematic because 

the only distinction on the form was whether the additive was 

intended for use in gasoline or diesel fuel. (With the exception 

of lead, additive use was not restricted for leaded gasoline.) 

However, additive manufacturers were generally called and advised 

if a gasoline additive did not meet the substantially similar 

criteria. They were also advised that restrictions on sale and use 

of additives which did not meet the substantially similar criteria 

applied to the bulk use of additives in unleaded gasoline, and that 

the restrictions did not apply to aftermarket use. 

The lack of specific information on the forms regarding 

intended fuel use was corrected when the additive notification form 

was revised in March 1990. The corrected form required the 

manufacturer to specify if the additive was for use in unleaded 

gasoline, leaded gasoline, and/or diesel, and whether it was for 

bulk and/or aftermarket use. Thus, if registration was requested 

for a bulk additive for unleaded gasoline, and if the additive was 

not substantially similar and did not have a waiver, the 

manufacturer was called and told that the additive would not be 

registered. 

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 expanded the restrictions 

of 211(f) to aftermarket additives. Thus, after November 15, 1990, 

registrations for these additives were also reviewed for compliance 

with the substantially similar rule. The only exceptions since 

enactment of the 1990 Act, in which non-substantially similar 

additives for use in unleaded gasoline have been registered, have 

been lead-substitute additives for use in cars designed for leaded 

gasoline. In the case of these additives, the manufacturers were 

notified that the additives had to be marketed solely for use in 

vehicles manufactured prior to the 1975 model year. 

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