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Regulatory

Announcement

Office of Transportation

and Air Quality

EPA420-F-06-040

May 2006

EPA Finalizes Alternative Low-Sulfur 

Diesel Fuel Transition Program for 

Alaska

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is modifying the diesel 

fuel regulations to apply an effective date of June 1, 2010, for the15 ppm 

sulfur requirements for highway, nonroad, locomotive and marine diesel 

fuel produced or imported for, distributed to, or used in the rural areas of 

Alaska. This final rule allows implementation of the nationwide programs 

for highway and nonroad diesel fuels in Alaska to be consistent with an 

alternative transition program requested by the State.

Standards/Regulations

This rule will finalize the following:

Rural areas (those areas not served by the Federal Aid Highway System) of Alaska will begin transitioning all highway, nonroad, locomo

tive, and marine diesel fuel to 15 ppm sulfur content diesel fuel 

beginning June 1, 2010.

15 ppm sulfur content diesel fuel must be in retail facilities in the 

rural areas by December 1, 2010. 

All diesel fuel in Alaska remains exempt from the dyeing requirements in the highway and nonroad final rules.

Fuel distributors in urban Alaska will be given the same transition 

schedule as distributors in the rest of the country for highway diesel 

fuel.

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Benefits of EPA’s Technical Amendments

Until 2010, rural areas of Alaska will be able to use uncontrolled sulfur content diesel for all uses; and thus will not face the unnecessary 

burden of trying to carry multiple grades of fuel.

All areas of Alaska, including both urban and rural, will begin transitioning both highway and NRLM diesel fuel to 15 ppm sulfur content 

diesel fuel at the same time: June 1, 2010.

Rural Alaska will begin transitioning locomotive and marine diesel 

fuel to 15 ppm sulfur content fuel beginning June 1, 2010, which 

is two years earlier than the nonroad diesel final rulemaking requires.

Background

In January 2001 and in June 2004, EPA finalized the Highway Diesel and 

Nonroad Diesel Rules, respectively, which will implement more stringent 

standards for new diesel engines and fuels. The rules mandate the use of 

lower sulfur fuels in diesel engines beginning in 2006 for highway diesel 

fuel, and 2007 for nonroad diesel fuel. These fuels will enable the use 

of aftertreatment technologies for new diesel engines, which can reduce 

harmful emissions by 90 percent or more. Aftertreatment technologies 

will start phasing into the diesel sector beginning in 2007 for highway 

and 2011 for nonroad. These programs will yield enormous long-term 

benefits for public health and the environment.

Because Alaska has unique geographical, meteorological, air quality, 

and economic characteristics, EPA granted temporary exemptions for 

the urban areas of the State (those served by the Federal Aid Highway 

System) from both the 500 ppm highway diesel fuel sulfur and the nonhighway dye standards, and a permanent exemption for the remaining 

State-defined rural areas, beginning in 1993. During the development 

of the Highway Diesel and Nonroad Diesel rules, EPA worked with the 

State of Alaska and regulated entities throughout the state to ensure that 

the unique characteristics of Alaska were taken into account. In general, 

the State of Alaska requested that the urban areas of Alaska adhere to the 

federal fuel sulfur standards and implementation schedule. However, the 

State requested alternative implementation schedules for the rural areas 

(those not served by the Federal Aid Highway System) of Alaska.

During the development of the Nonroad Diesel rule, the State requested: 

1) that June 1, 2010, be the deadline for conversion to highway diesel 

fuel in rural Alaska; 2) that June 1, 2010, be the deadline for conversion 

of all nonroad, locomotive, and marine (NRLM) diesel fuel to 15 ppm 

sulfur content in rural Alaska; and 3) that the 15 ppm standard applicable 

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to locomotive and marine diesel fuel produced in, imported into, and distributed or used within rural Alaska be moved up to June 1, 2010 (from 

the June 2012 nationwide date in the final Nonroad Diesel rule.

Rural Alaska is unique in that its fuel storage and distribution systems 

are not capable of handling more than one grade of fuel, and there will 

not be many vehicles (if any) in rural areas that will require the use of 15 

ppm sulfur diesel fuel. There was concern that, under the final Nonroad 

Diesel rule, rural Alaska would have essentially been forced to either 

carry two grades of fuel or begin using 15 ppm sulfur content diesel fuel 

for all uses well before it is required.

In October 2005, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking, which 

proposed provisions to meet the State’s three requests for rural Alaska. 

With its current rulemaking, EPA is finalizing those provisions. As such, 

the rural areas of Alaska will be allowed to transition all highway, nonroad, locomotive, and marine diesel fuel to 15 ppm starting June 1, 2010. 

This will ensure that the rural areas of Alaska will have ultra-low sulfur 

diesel fuel (ULSD), and it will streamline the transition process by allowing all of the fuel to transition to ULSD at the same time.

In addition, the State commented that the current language of the highway diesel fuel regulations as applied to the urban areas of Alaska did 

not meet the intent of the final highway diesel rule. The current wording 

essentially requires that all parties downstream of the refinery in urban 

Alaska would have to transition to a 500 ppm standard by June 1 since 

they are currently exempted from the 500 ppm standard and are at a 

higher sulfur level. This intent was that fuel distributors in urban Alaska 

would have the same transition schedule as distributors in the rest of the 

country. In its comments, the State requested that we apply the nationwide distributor transition dates for highway diesel fuel to distributors in 

urban Alaska. To be consistent with the intent of the highway diesel final 

rule, this rule will also finalize such provisions.

Public Participation Opportunities

We do not anticipate adverse comments on this rule nor do we currently 

plan to hold a hearing, as these provisions are minor. In addition, we 

worked with parties in the State of Alaska during the development of 

the rule. The provisions in this rule will not adversely affect regulated 

entities or the environment; they will merely assist parties throughout 

the fuel refining and distribution system in Alaska in complying with the 

highway and nonroad diesel regulations.
For More Information

You can access this Final Rule and related documents on EPA’s Office of 

Transportation and Air Quality Web site at:

www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/fuels/diesel/diesel.htm

Additional information on the Highway Diesel and Nonroad Diesel Rules 

is available at the following Web sites:

Highway Diesel Rule

Web site: www.epa.gov/otaq/diesel.htm

Preamble: www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/hd2007/frm/frdslpre.pdf

Regulations: www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/hd2007/frm/frdslreg.pdf

Nonroad Diesel Rule

Web site: www.epa.gov/nonroad-diesel/2004fr.htm

Preamble and Regulations: www.epa.gov/otaq/url-fr/fr29jn04.pdf

July 2005 Technical Amendment to the Highway and Nonroad 

Diesel Rules (published July 15, 2005)

Web site: www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/fuels/diesel/diesel.htm#amend

Preamble & Regulations: 

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.

access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-13781.pdf

November 2005 Technical Amendment to the Highway and Nonroad Diesel Rules (published November 22, 2005)

Web site: www.epa.gov/otaq regs/fuels/diesel/diesel.htm#dfr-con

current

Preamble & Regulations:

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.

access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-22807.pdf

May 2006 Technical Amendment to the Highway and Nonroad 

Diesel Rules (signed April 20, 2006; published May 1, 2006)

Web site: www.epa.gov/otaq regs/fuels/diesel/diesel.htm#nonroad

Preamble & Regulations:

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage. 

cgi?dbname=2006_register&page=25716&position=all

Additional compliance help on diesel regulations

www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/comphelp.htm

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