March 10, 2009 

Air Pollution Control Board 

800 South Victoria Avenue 

Ventura, CA 93009 

SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING PROPOSED AMENDED RULE 70, 

STORAGE AND TRANSFER OF GASOLINE 

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

1. Approve and Adopt the proposed statutory findings and the proposed CEQA Notice of 

Exemption for proposed amended Rule 70, Storage and Transfer of Gasoline 

(Attachments 1 and 2). 

2. Approve and Adopt proposed amendments to Rule 70, Storage and Transfer of Gasoline 

(Attachment 3). 

3. Direct the Clerk of the Board to forward two certified minute orders, and an affidavit of 

publication of the public hearing notice, for all proposed actions to the Air Pollution 

Control District. 

4. Direct Air Pollution Control Officer or his designee file a CEQA Notices of Exemption 

pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15062 for amended Rule 70. 

FISCAL / MANDATES IMPACT:

Mandatory: No 

Fiscal Impact: No impact. 

STATEMENT OF MATTER FOR BOARD CONSIDERATION:

Background

Rule 70, first adopted on June 25, 1974, regulates the storage and transfer of gasoline at bulk 

plants, terminals, and vehicle dispensing facilities (service stations). The rule has been amended 

several times since its initial adoption to reflect changes in air pollution control technology 

and/or regulations. 
Air Pollution Control Board 

March 10, 2009 

Page 2 

In December, 2006, EPA released guidance on the removal of "Stage II gasoline vapor recovery 

systems" from gasoline dispensing facilities which service motor vehicle fleets with at least a 

95% penetration of Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery (ORVR) systems. These vehicle fleets 

include: 

1. Initial fueling of new vehicles at automobile assembly plants. 

2. Refueling of rental cars at vehicle rental facilities. 

3. Refueling of flexible fuel vehicles at E85 dispensing pumps (85% ethanol fuel). 

4. Corporate fleets (which was a category added in November, 2007). 

The Air Resources Board followed up on this U.S. EPA guidance in February, 2008, by 

encouraging, but not requiring, all local air pollution control districts to modify their respective 

gasoline dispensing facility rules to exempt specific ORVR fleets from Phase II vapor recovery 

requirements. This rule action proposes such an exemption for this District. 

There are other proposed revisions, unrelated to the ORVR issue, to various subsections of Rule 

70 which are discussed below. 

Proposed Revisions

A. Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery and E85 

To implement an exemption from the Phase II vapor recovery requirements for vehicle fleets 

with ORVR systems at the 95% penetration level, new Subsection F.8 is proposed . This new 

subsection exempts motor vehicle fleets where no less than 95 percent of the vehicles fueled are 

equipped with Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery (ORVR) systems from Phase II vapor 

recovery requirements. Storage containers must be owned by the vehicle fleet operator. The 

proposal is more general than the EPA suggestion noted above, allowing other operations to 

qualify for an exemption. The proposal is consistent with rules already in place at the Bay Area 

AQMD, the San Joaquin Valley APCD, the Monterey Bay Unified APCD, and the Santa Barbara 

County APCD. Recordkeeping requirements for the exemption are proposed in new Subsection 

G.3. 

Staff is creating a special exemption for E85 fuel. CARB has issued an executive order stating 

that no certified Phase II vapor recovery system exists for E85. In Ventura County, one E85 

station has been built; staff believes that few additional stations are likely. Therefore, an exemption from Phase II vapor recover for E85 fueling systems is proposed in new Subsection F.9. 

B. Other Proposed Revisions: 

● Add new definitions of "E85 fuel," "Fleet" and "ORVR" to Section J. 

● Add new Subsection B.17 to prohibit standing gasoline in the spill boxes that surround 

gasoline delivery connectors on underground storage tanks. 
Air Pollution Control Board 

March 10, 2009 

Page 3 

● Add new Subsection B.18 to require daily inspections of Phase II vapor recovery 

hardware. This includes nozzles, coaxial hose, retractors and other related equipment. 

Recordkeeping of this new requirement is added in new Subsection G.6. 

● Add new Subsection H.11 to require the submittal of final written reverification reports 

no later than 14 days after the date of the tests. The District’s Compliance Division has 

had occasional problems getting final test reports from operators or testing contractors 

and this requirement is expected to increase compliance. 

● Revise the definition of "Major Modification" (renumbered Subsection J.16) to clarify 

that the replacement of a Phase II system is a major modification and, as such, will 

require a complete round of Phase II testing. 

Discussion

The proposed exemption for ORVR will result in no measurable increase or reduction in ROC 

emissions in Ventura County. As noted in the EPA December, 2006, guidance letter, EPA 

assumes that, when ORVR penetration is above 95 percent, ROC emission reductions from the 

ORVR systems are equal to the reductions that occur at a typical facility equipped with Phase II 

vapor recovery. EPA also states that no significant additional ROC reduction occurs when the 

two systems are used together. 

Note that the ROC emission reductions expected from other proposed revisions to Rule 70 are 

not possible to quantify because it is impossible to know how long or to what extent excess 

emissions occur at gasoline dispensing facilities. While District compliance personnel observe 

over 95 percent of the testing done at gasoline dispensing facilities, pre-testing causes some 

compliance problems to be corrected before District compliance personnel arrive. 

Public Participation

Staff held a public workshop on the proposed revisions to Rule 70 on November 11, 2008. 

There were no attendees. USEPA provided 'no comment' letter. The Air Resources Board 

requested a minor change to Subsection C.2.c, which is included in the attached proposed rule. 

Affiliates of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) commented on two aspects of 

the proposed rule; these issues have been resolved. The Advisory Committee recommended 

adoption of the proposed rule unanimously on January 27, 2009. 

PROPOSED FINDINGS:

Health and Safety Code Section 40727 directs that, prior to adopting the proposed revision to 

Rule 70, your Board adopt findings of necessity, authority, clarity, consistency, nonduplication, 

and reference, based upon relevant information presented at the hearing. Therefore, if your 

Board votes to approve the proposed revisions to Rule 70, it is recommended that your Board 

also adopt the proposed findings set forth in Attachment 1. 
Air Pollution Control Board 

March 10, 2009 

Page 4 

Proposed revisions to Rule 70 have been determined to be exempt from the requirements of the 

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA 

Guidelines, because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that this change may 

have a significant effect on the environment. A Notice of Exemption with respect to this CEQA 

exemption is included as Attachment 2. 

This proposal has been reviewed by County Counsel. If you have any questions, please contact 

me at 645-1440 or Don Price at 645-1407. 

MICHAEL VILLEGAS 

Air Pollution Control Officer 

Attachments: 

 1. Proposed Legislative Findings – Rule 70 

 2. Proposed Notice of CEQA Exemption - Rule 70 

 3. Proposed Rule 70 (strikeout/underline, 2/9/09) 

 4. Proposed Rule 70 (clean version, 2/9/09) 

 5. Final Staff Report (3/2/09) 

 6. Advisory Committee Voting Record (1/27/09)