# State Implementation Plan for New Mexico

Revisions to Title 20 of the Ne w Mexico Administrative Code

Chapter 11: Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board

Part 102: Oxygenated Fuels

Docket ID EPA-R06-OAR-2006-0569

Technical Support Document

December 2009

Table of Contents:

I. Introduction

II. The State Submittal and EPA Analysis

III. EPA Conclusion and Recommendation

IV. Documents Submitted by the State

On May 24, 2006, the Governor of New Mexico submitted to the United States

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a re quest to approve revisions to the State

Implementation Plan (SIP). The revisions addr ess Title 20 of the New Mexico Administrative

Code (NMAC), Chapter 11, Part 102 (denoted 20.11.102 NMAC), which apply to oxygenated

fuels in the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County area. In this techni cal support document, we review

the State submittal in accordance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (the Act).

I. Introduction

The Albuquerque/Bernalillo County area was de signated as a moderate nonattainment

area for carbon monoxide (CO) on November 6, 1991 (see 56 FR 56694). As a moderate

nonattainment area for CO, the area had to meet several new requirements, one of which was to

implement an oxygenated fuels (oxyfuels) program, to reduce emissions of CO in automobile

exhaust. The Albuquerque/Bernalillo County ar ea oxyfuels program was submitted by the state

and subsequently approved by EPA on November 29, 1993 (58 FR 62535). On April 14, 1995,

the Governor of New Mexico submitted a request to EPA to redesignate to attainment the

Albuquerque/Bernalillo County CO nonattainment area, which we approved on June 13, 1996

(61 FR 29970). On July 21, 2005, we approved revi sions to the New Mexi co SIP pertaining to

the second 10-year carbon monoxide (CO) mainte nance plan for the Albuquerque/Bernalillo

County area, including revisions to 20.11.102 NMAC, which addre sses the oxyfuels program (70

FR 41963).

A second 10-year maintenance plan was appr oved by EPA for incorporation into the SIP

on April 14, 2005 (70 FR 19702), which includ ed 20.11.102 NMAC. Various forms of the

oxygenated fuels program have been in place in the winter months (November 1 through the last

day of February) in the Albuquerque /Bernalillo County area since 1988. 1



# Oxygenates are fuel additives (alcohols and ethers) that contain oxygen, which can boost

gasoline's octane quality, enhance combustion, and reduce exhaust emissions. The term

oxygenated gasoline most commonly refers to the wintertime program that reduces emissions of

1 

# See 58 FR 62535, November 29, 1993 and 61 FR 29970, June 13, 1996.



# 1

# 2 carbon monoxide (CO) from motor vehicles. Although required by the Act, winter oxygenated

gasoline programs are implemented by the stat es. The current Albuquerque/Bernalillo County

area SIP requires a minimum oxygenate concentrat e during the winter months of 2.7% by weight

in the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County area.

II. The State Submittal and EPA Analysis

The 2006 submittal meets the completeness finding; the submittal was not determined by

EPA to have failed to meet the minimum criteria es tablished pursuant to 1 10(k)(1)(A) and thus is

deemed by operation of law to meet such minimum criteria. 2



# To evaluate the differences between the curr ent and proposed SIP revisions, we created a

table that includes legal and technical commen ts, and title changes; see the table below.

2 

# See section 110(k)(1)(B) of the Act.Current CitationTitle/SubjectRevised CitationTitle/SubjectTechnical/Legal CommentsComments onRevisionDifferences BetweenCurrent and RevisedSIPNew Mexico Administrative Code, Title 20 – Environment ProtectionChapter 11 – Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control BoardPart 102 – Oxygenated Fuels (denoted 20.11.102 NMAC)20.11.102.2 Scope20.11.102.2 ScopeSpecifies 20.11.102 NMAC ratherthan “this part.” Specifies motorfuel sold retail or wholesale orsupplied; excepts Indian lands.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005Provides clarification;Indian lands are notwithin the jurisdiction ofthe City or County.20.11.102.3 StatutoryAuthority20.11.102.3 StatutoryAuthoritySpecifies 20.11.102 NMAC ratherthan “this part.” Corrections toreferences for State/County rules.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005No substantive changes20.11.102.7 Definitions20.11.102.7 DefinitionsSpecifies 20.11.102 NMAC ratherthan “this part.”Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005No substantive changes20.11.102.7 B.“Ethanol”20.11.102.7 B.“Ethanol”Replaces C2H6O with CH3CH2OH,which is the correct molecularcomposition for ethanol.3Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005No substantive changes20.11.102.7 D. “Gasolinemotor fuels”20.11.102.7 D.“Gasoline motor fuels”Deletes “for purposes of this part”Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005No substantive changes3Ethanol is a straight-chain alcohol and itsmolecular formulais C2H5OH. Itsempirical formulaisC2H6O, which 20.11.102 NMAC section 7(B) had previously(and incorrectly) defined as the molecular composition. The empirical formula isthe simplest whole number ratio ofatomsof eachelementpresent in acompound. In contrast, the molecular composition identifies the numbers of each type of atom in a molecule.Current CitationTitle/SubjectRevised CitationTitle/SubjectTechnical/Legal CommentsComments onRevisionDifferences BetweenCurrent and RevisedSIP20.11.102.7 L.“Oxygenated fuelsprocedures manual orprocedures manual”20.11.102.7 L. “Vehiclepollution managementdivision (VPMD)”Removes obsolete proceduresmanual. Identifies the departmentresponsible for administering20.11.102 NMAC.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005Provides clarificationand relevance.New citation20.11.102.7 M “Winterpollution season”Identifies the beginning and enddates for the annual winter pollutionseason.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005Provides clarification.20.11.102.9 SavingsClause20.11.102.9 SavingsClauseRemoves obsolete references toAQCB regulations and theprocedures manual.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005No substantive changes20.11.102.10 Severability20.11.102.10SeverabilityProvides clarification; specifies20.11.102 NMAC rather than “thispart.”Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005No substantive changes20.11.102.11 Documents20.11.102.11DocumentsSpecifies 20.11.102 NMAC ratherthan “this part.”Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005No substantive changes20.11.102.12 OxygenatedFuels20.11.102.12Oxygenated FuelsIdentifies the winter pollution seasonas the time for use of oxygenatedfuels.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005Provides clarification.No substantive changes.20.11.102.12 A Annualprogram duration andminimum oxygen content20.11.102.12 A. Annualprogram duration andminimum oxygencontentSpecifies the winter pollutionseason. Provides clarifying edits.Removes methyl tertiary butyl ether(MTBE) as approved for use in theprogram.4Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005Provides clarification.4Per personal conversation with VPMD staff (Glen Dennis), MTBE hasnot been used as a fuel oxygenate in the State for many years. In addition, releases ofMTBE to ground and surface water can occur through leaking underground storage tanks and pipelines, spills, emissions from marine engines into lakes andreservoirs, and to some extent from air deposition. Since MTBE is not in use in the State and to avoid contamination of groundand surface waters by MTBE, the4Current CitationTitle/SubjectRevised CitationTitle/SubjectTechnical/Legal CommentsComments onRevisionDifferences BetweenCurrent and RevisedSIPNew Citation20.11.102.12 B.InventoryTaken from the procedures manual,which is revoked.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005Provides clarification.New Citation20.11.102.12 C.RecordkeepingTaken from the procedures manual,which is revoked.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005Provides clarification.20.11.102.12 B. Labelingand notice to the public20.11.102.12 D.Labeling and notice tothe publicRe-lettering the citation. New textdirects VPMD to provide labels toidentify the type of oxygenate usedat each dispensing pump. Deletesobsolete public education program5for oxyfuels.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005Provides standardizedand consistent labeling.New Citation20.11.102.12 E.SamplingTaken from the procedures manual,which is revoked. References 40CFR 80, Appendix D.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005Provides clarificationand consistency.New Citation20.11.102.12 F.AnalysisTaken from the procedures manual,which is revoked. ReferencesAmerican Society for Testing andMaterials methods.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005Provides clarificationand consistency.20.11.102.12 C.Enforcement20.11.102.12 G.EnforcementRe-lettering the citation. New texttaken from the procedures manual,which is revoked. Includes a rangeof fines and schedule of correctiveactions, including closure.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005Provides clarificationand consistency.State is removing MTBE from the list of approved fuel oxygenates. The rule at 20.11.102.12A(4) still specifies blending up to10 percent by volume for ethanol,thus removal of MTBE as a fuel oxygenate is not a weakening of the SIP.5The public education program was developed to introduce the public to the forthcoming oxyfuels program, prior to 1993. Thus,this public education programis obsolete.56Current CitationTitle/SubjectRevised CitationTitle/SubjectTechnical/Legal CommentsComments onRevisionDifferences BetweenCurrent and RevisedSIP20.11.102.12 D.Suspension of programdue to oxygenateshortage20.11.102.12 H.Suspension of programdue to oxygenateshortageSpecifies 20.11.102 NMAC ratherthan “this part.”Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005No substantive changes20.11.102.12 E. Programreview20.11.102.12 I. ProgramreviewRe-lettering the citation.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005No substantive changes20.11.102.13 OxygenatedFuels Procedures ManualEntire citation revokedRelevant text is inserted insubsections B, C, E, F, G above.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005No substantive changes20.11.102.14Contingency Measures20.11.102.14Contingency MeasureDeletes redundant text. Provides forcontingency measure to beimplemented if monitored levels ofCO exceed 85 percent of NAAQS.Adopted by NM,effective 12/11/2005Provides more rapidresponse to reducingincreased levels of CO.

# III. EPA Conclusion and Recommendation

The May 24, 2006 revisions to the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County SIP provide

clarification and improvements that strengthen the SIP. Therefore, EPA recommends approving

this submittal as a Direct Fina l notice. We are a pproving these revisions under section 110 of the

Clean Air Act and EPA’s regulations.

Documents Submitted by the State

The State submitted and EPA reviewed the following materials:

1. SIP completeness checklist, pursuant to 40 CFR 51, Appendix V.

2. Attachment A: NMAC Transmittal Sheet, showing hearing date, effective date and

date filed with the State records center.

3. Attachment B: New Mexico Air Quality Control Act.

4. Attachment C: 20.11.102 NMAC, as amended and filed.

5. Attachment D: 20.11.102, showing strikeout edited version of proposed rule,

published in the NM Register.

6. Attachment E: Hearing exhibits (Public review draft, NM Register notice,

Albuquerque Journal legal notice, floor amen dments to public re view draft, public

comments received by 10/5/05, list of ema il addresses notified of proposed revision,

and comments received from EPA).

7. Attachment F: Hearing record transcripts.

8. Attachment G: Federal Register notice (70 FR 41963, July 21, 2005).