Technical Support Document 

Approval of Revisions to the Texas State Implementation Plan, Revisions to Control 

Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Consumer Related Sources 

Docket ID: EPA-R06-OAR-2010-0252 

June 2010 

I. BACKGROUND 

The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for certain widespread pollutants that cause 

or contribute to air pollution that is reasonably anticipated to endanger public health or welfare. 

The NAAQS are established under section 109 of the CAA and currently address six criteria 

pollutants: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, lead, particulate matter, and sulfur 

dioxide. As required by section 110 of the CAA, States have adopted a State Implementation 

Plan (SIP) which identifies how the NAAQS will be attained and maintained. The State must 

submit revisions to the SIP to EPA. EPA reviews the revisions and approves the revised SIP if it 

complies with section 110 of the CAA. Approval makes the revisions Federally-enforceable. If 

the revision does not comply with the CAA, EPA disapproves it. Disapproval will lead to further 

revisions by the State or development of a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) by EPA. 

Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions can react with sunlight and nitrogen oxides (NOx) 

to form ground-level ozone. The control of VOC emissions can help attain the NAAQS for 

ozone. Texas has adopted regulations to control VOC emissions from consumer related sources 

which can be found in Title 30 of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), chapter 115, 

subchapter G. Division 1 of subchapter G is Automotive Windshield Washer Fluid. Division 2, 

which is being repealed in the present rulemaking, is Portable Fuel Containers. 

II. STATE SUBMITTAL 

A. Regulatory Background 

On October 27, 2004, the State adopted the Texas Portable Fuel Container rule, which set 

requirements for portable fuel containers and spouts sold or distributed in Texas that are 

manufactured on or after December 31, 2005. The purpose of the regulation was to lower VOC 

emissions in Texas from portable fuel container spills or leaks. EPA approved the Texas 

Portable Fuel Container rule into the SIP on February 10, 2005 (70 FR 7041). 

On February 26, 2007, EPA adopted federal portable fuel container regulations which 

established new national standards for gasoline, diesel, and kerosene portable fuel containers (72 

FR 8432). All portable fuel containers manufactured on or after January 1, 2009, must comply 

with the 2007 federal standards. The federal regulations can be found at 40 CFR part 59 subpart 

F. The standards in the federal portable fuel container regulations aim to reduce nationwide 
hydrocarbon emissions from containers due to evaporation, permeation, and spillage, and are 

more stringent than the Texas portable fuel container regulations. 

On September 11, 2009, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) proposed to 

repeal the Texas Portable Fuel Container rule (34 TexReg 6279). A notice of public hearing was 

published in newspapers in Austin, El Paso, Fort Worth, and Houston on August 31, 2009. A 

notice of public hearing was also published in the September 11, 2009 issue of the Texas 

Register (34 TexReg 6371). A public hearing was held in Austin on October 6, 2009. No 

written or oral comments were received by TCEQ regarding the proposed revision. 

B. Description of Submittal 

The SIP revision submitted by TCEQ to EPA on March 4, 2010, removes the Texas Portable 

Fuel Container rule as an ozone control strategy from the Texas SIP for the Control of Ozone Air 

Pollution, and demonstrates that federal portable fuel container standards promulgated by EPA in 

2007 provide equal to or greater emissions reductions than those resulting from the state 

regulations. The SIP revision repeals sections 115.620 – 115.622, 115.626, 115.627, and 

115.629 of 30 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 115, Control of Air Pollution from 

Volatile Organic Compounds, Subchapter G, Consumer-Related Sources. TCEQ submitted a 

table comparing the estimated statewide VOC emissions reductions in tons per ozone season day 

expected from the state and federal portable fuel container regulations. According to these 

estimates, the statewide VOC emissions reductions expected from the federal and state 

regulations for the year 2002 are equal to each other. For each of the years 2008, 2011, 2014, 

2017, 2018, and 2019, the estimated statewide VOC emissions reductions expected from the 

federal portable fuel container regulations exceed those expected from the state regulations. In 

their submittal, TCEQ also asserted that the state portable fuel container regulations have 

become unnecessary with the implementation of the more stringent federal regulations, and that 

the repeal of the state rules is intended to eliminate duplication and to provide a clear regulatory 

structure for manufacturers who may otherwise become confused about which standards they are 

required to comply with. 

III. COMPARISON OF THE TEXAS AND FEDERAL REGULATIONS 

After close inspection of the federal portable fuel container regulations promulgated by EPA on 

February 26, 2007 (72 FR 8432),1

 and the Texas regulations found at 30 TAC Chapter 115, 

Control of Air Pollution from Volatile Organic Compounds, Subchapter G, Consumer-Related 

Sources, Division 2, Portable Fuel Containers, EPA has determined that the federal regulations 

are more stringent than the state regulations. 

The Texas portable fuel container regulations established requirements for portable fuel 

containers and spouts sold or distributed in Texas that are manufactured on or after December 

31, 2005. The Texas Portable Fuel Container rule did not apply to or affect in any way the sale 

of portable fuel containers or spouts manufactured prior to December 31, 2005. The Texas 

regulations established design criteria for “no-spill” portable fuel containers based primarily on 

presently outdated standards adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in 2001. 

 

1

 The federal portable fuel container regulations are found at 40 CFR part 59 subpart F. 
The Texas regulations established only design criteria for portable fuel containers and spouts, but 

did not establish performance-based standards for containers and spouts. The state regulations 

mandated that portable fuel containers must have only one opening in the vessel in order to 

reduce evaporative emissions and possible spillage of fuel. The Texas regulations also mandated 

that spouts for these containers must (1) have an automatic shut-off device to prevent overfilling, (2) automatically close and seal when removed from the fuel tank, (3) seal without 

leakage when affixed to the portable fuel container vessel, and (4) meet fuel flow rate and fuel 

flow cut-off standards. In contrast to the federal regulations, the state regulations established no 

emission standards to ensure that compliance with the design criteria for portable fuel containers 

would in practice reduce hydrocarbon emissions to a particular threshold. Moreover, the Texas 

regulations did not require the control of permeation rates through the walls of portable fuel 

containers because the State expected that the cost of compliance would be large and the 

reduction in emissions small, relative to other provisions. Thus, the state regulations aimed to 

reduce hydrocarbon emissions from portable fuel containers due to spillage and evaporation 

only. 

Rather than merely establishing particular design criteria for portable fuel containers, the 

federal portable fuel container regulations promulgated by EPA in 2007 established a 

performance-based standard of 0.3 grams per gallon per day (g/gal/day) of hydrocarbons. All 

containers manufactured on or after January 1, 2009, are required to comply with the federal 

portable fuel container standards. As of July 1, 2009, manufacturers and importers must not 

enter into U.S. commerce any products manufactured prior to January 1, 2009, which do not 

meet the federal standards. The federal regulations are very similar to the revised portable fuel 

container regulations adopted by the CARB on September 15, 2005. The standards in the federal 

regulations aim to reduce nationwide hydrocarbon emissions from containers due to evaporation, 

permeation, and spillage. The standards established by the federal regulations explicitly apply to 

portable gasoline containers, as well as to portable diesel and kerosene containers. EPA included 

diesel and kerosene containers in the regulations because these containers can easily be used for 

gasoline since they are all manufactured by the same manufacturers and are identical to each 

other except for color (gasoline containers are red, diesel containers are yellow, and kerosene 

containers are blue). The federal regulations also clarify that utility jugs are considered portable 

fuel containers and are therefore subject to the federal requirements.2

 The 0.3 g/gal/day federal 

standard is based on the performance of best available control technologies, such as durable 

permeation barriers, automatically closing spouts, and cans that are well-sealed, and it is 

expected that in order to comply with the performance-based standard, manufacturers will have 

to incorporate these control technologies in the design of their containers. The federal standard is 

measured based on the emissions from the container over a diurnal test cycle, after the container 

has been preconditioned by going through (1) three durability aging cycles which help ensure 

durable permeation barriers,3

 (2) a fuel soak to allow the hydrocarbon permeation rate to 

 

2

 Utility jugs are designed and marketed for use with gasoline, often to fuel recreational equipment such as allterrain vehicles and personal watercraft. 3

 The three durability aging cycles are (1) slosh cycling, (2) pressure-vacuum cycling, and (3) ultraviolet (UV) 

exposure. The purpose of these durability/deterioration cycles is to help ensure that the technology chosen by the 

manufacturers is durable in-use and represents best available control, and that the measured emissions are 

representative of in-use permeation rates. 
stabilize, and (3) a durability demonstration of the spout.4

 The durability aging cycles followed 

by the diurnal test cycle ensure that containers meet the emissions standard over a range of in-use 

conditions, such as different temperatures and fuels, and also take into consideration factors 

affecting durability. To insure that containers meet the emission standard in use over the life of 

the container, the federal regulations also established a new certification and compliance 

program. Manufacturers are required to apply for and receive an EPA certificate of conformity, 

using the certification process specified in the regulations, before entering their containers into 

U.S. commerce. The federal regulations also require an emissions warranty period of one year to 

be provided by the manufacturer of the portable fuel container to the consumer. The warranty 

covers emissions-related materials defects and breakage under normal use, which promotes the 

objective of the rule by providing consumers with an opportunity to replace containers that have 

failed in use. The required warranty also helps ensure that manufacturers will “stand behind” 

their product if they fail in-use, thus improving product design and performance. In contrast to 

the Texas regulations, the federal portable fuel container regulations did not establish automatic 

shut-off requirements5 because EPA found them to be counterproductive. EPA determined that 

due to a wide variety of receiving fuel tank designs, auto shut-off spouts do not work well with a 

variety of equipment types, resulting in fuel spillage and customer dissatisfaction. EPA 

determined that automatic closing cans,6

 even without automatic shut-off requirements, will lead 

to reduced spillage. 

Comparison of the state and federal regulations demonstrates that the federal regulations adopted 

more stringent portable fuel container standards than those found in the Texas regulations. 

While the Texas regulations merely adopted design criteria for portable fuel containers and 

spouts, the performance-based standard established by the federal regulations, along with the 

various required test procedures, the certification and compliance program, and the required 

emissions warranty help ensure that containers meet the emission standard over a range of in-use 

conditions. Although the federal regulations do not specify required design criteria for portable 

fuel containers, it is expected that in order to comply with the performance-based standard, 

manufacturers will have to use best available control technologies such as durable permeation 

barriers, automatically closing spouts, and cans that are well-sealed. 

IV. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS 

Federal portable fuel container standards found at 40 CFR part 59 subpart F still apply after 

removal of the state portable fuel container regulations. It is expected that reliance on the more 

stringent federal portable fuel container standards will ensure that emission reductions equivalent 

to or greater than those in the repealed Texas portable fuel container regulations will continue to 

be achieved in the State of Texas. Accordingly, it is expected that this SIP revision will not have 

a negative impact neither on the emission reductions claimed in the Texas SIP, nor in Texas’ 

 

4

 The durability demonstration of the spout helps ensure quality spout designs that do not fail in-use and result in 

spillage. 

5

 Automatic shut-off is a feature that stops the flow of fuel when the fuel reaches the top of the receiving tank in 

order to prevent over-filling. 

6

 Automatic closure is a feature that allows the spout to automatically close and remained sealed when removed 

from the target fuel tank, and remains completely closed when not dispensing fuel. 
attainment of the NAAQS for ozone. Thus, EPA can approve this revision in compliance with 

section 110(l) of the CAA. 

It is recommended that the revisions to the Texas SIP concerning the repeal of the Texas portable 

fuel container regulations be approved pursuant to section 110 of the CAA.