II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2962

To amend the Clean Air Act to address problems concerning methyl tertiary

butyl ether, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 27, 2000

Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL

To amend the Clean Air Act to address problems concerning

methyl tertiary butyl ether, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Reformulated

5 Fuels Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. WAIVER OF OXYGEN CONTENT REQUIREMENT FOR

7 REFORMULATED GASOLINE.

8 Section 211(k)(1) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.

9 7545(k)(1)) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Within 1 year after the enact2 ment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,’’

3 and inserting the following:

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than No5 vember 15, 1991,’’; and

6 (2) by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OF OXYGEN CONTENT RE8 QUIREMENT.—

9 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY OF THE GOV10 ERNOR.—

11 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwith12 standing any other provision of this

13 subsection, a Governor of a State,

14 upon notification by the Governor to

15 the Administrator during the 90-day

16 period beginning on the date of enact17 ment of this subparagraph, may waive

18 the application of paragraphs (2)(B)

19 and (3)(A)(v) to gasoline sold or dis20 pensed in the State.

21 ‘‘(II) OPT-IN AREAS.—A Gov22 ernor of a State that submits an ap23 plication under paragraph (6) may, as

24 part of that application, waive the ap25 plication of paragraphs (2)(B) and
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1 (3)(A)(v) to gasoline sold or dispensed

2 in the State.

3 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT AS REFORMULATED

4 GASOLINE.—In the case of a State for

5 which the Governor invokes the waiver de6 scribed in clause (i), gasoline that complies

7 with all provisions of this subsection other

8 than paragraphs (2)(B) and (3)(A)(v) shall

9 be considered to be reformulated gasoline

10 for the purposes of this subsection.

11 ‘‘(iii) EFFECTIVE DATE OF WAIVER.—

12 A waiver under clause (i) shall take effect

13 on the earlier of—

14 ‘‘(I) the date on which the per15 formance standard under subpara16 graph (C) takes effect; or

17 ‘‘(II) the date that is 270 days

18 after the date of enactment of this

19 subparagraph.

20 ‘‘(C) MAINTENANCE OF TOXIC AIR POL21 LUTANT EMISSION REDUCTIONS.—

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—As soon as prac23 ticable after the date of enactment of this

24 subparagraph, the Administrator shall—
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1 ‘‘(I) promulgate regulations con2 sistent with subparagraph (A) and

3 paragraph (3)(B)(ii) to ensure that

4 reductions of toxic air pollutant emis5 sions achieved under the reformulated

6 gasoline program under this section

7 before the date of enactment of this

8 subparagraph are maintained in

9 States for which the Governor waives

10 the oxygenate requirement under sub11 paragraph (B)(i); or

12 ‘‘(II) determine that the require13 ment described in clause (iv)—

14 ‘‘(aa) is consistent with the

15 bases for a performance standard

16 described in clause (ii); and

17 ‘‘(bb) shall be deemed to be

18 the performance standard under

19 clause (ii) and shall be applied in

20 accordance with clause (iii).

21 ‘‘(ii) PERFORMANCE STANDARD.—The

22 Administrator, in regulations promulgated

23 under clause (i)(I), shall establish an an24 nual average performance standard based

25 on—
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1 ‘‘(I) compliance survey data;

2 ‘‘(II) the annual aggregate reduc3 tions in emissions of toxic air pollut4 ants achieved under the reformulated

5 gasoline program during calendar

6 years 1998 and 1999, determined on

7 the basis of the volume of reformu8 lated gasoline containing methyl ter9 tiary butyl ether that is sold through10 out the United States; and

11 ‘‘(III) such other information as

12 the Administrator determines to be

13 appropriate.

14 ‘‘(iii) APPLICABILITY.—

15 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The perform16 ance standard under clause (ii) shall

17 be applied on an annual average refin18 ery-by-refinery basis to all reformu19 lated gasoline that is sold or intro20 duced into commerce by the refinery

21 in a State for which the Governor

22 waives the oxygenate requirement

23 under subparagraph (B)(i).

24 ‘‘(II) MORE STRINGENT RE25 QUIREMENTS.—The performance
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1 standard under clause (ii) shall not

2 apply to the extent that any require3 ment under section 202(l) is more

4 stringent than the performance stand5 ard.

6 ‘‘(III) STATE STANDARDS.—The

7 performance standard under clause

8 (ii) shall not apply in any State that

9 has received a waiver under section

10 209(b).

11 ‘‘(IV) CREDIT PROGRAM.—The

12 Administrator shall provide for the

13 granting of credits for exceeding the

14 performance standard under clause

15 (ii) in the same manner as provided in

16 paragraph (7).

17 ‘‘(iv) STATUTORY PERFORMANCE

18 STANDARD.—

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to

20 subclause (III), if the regulations

21 under clause (i)(I) have not been pro22 mulgated by the date that is 270 days

23 after the date of enactment of this

24 subparagraph, the requirement de25 scribed in subclause (II) shall be
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1 deemed to be the performance stand2 ard under clause (ii) and shall be ap3 plied in accordance with clause (iii).

4 ‘‘(II) TOXIC AIR POLLUTANT

5 EMISSIONS.—The aggregate emissions

6 of toxic air pollutants from baseline

7 vehicles when using reformulated gas8 oline shall be 27.5 percent below the

9 aggregate emissions of toxic air pol10 lutants from baseline vehicles when

11 using baseline gasoline.

12 ‘‘(III) SUBSEQUENT REGULA13 TIONS.—The Administrator may mod14 ify the performance standard estab15 lished under subclause (I) through

16 promulgation of regulations under

17 clause (i)(I).’’.

18 SEC. 3. SALE OF GASOLINE CONTAINING MTBE.

19 Section 211(c) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.

20 7545(c)) is amended—

21 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)—

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘fuel or fuel additive or’’

23 after ‘‘Administrator any’’; and
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘air pollution which’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘air pollution, or water pollution,

3 that’’;

4 (2) in paragraph (4)(B), by inserting ‘‘or water

5 quality protection,’’ after ‘‘emission control,’’; and

6 (3) by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(5) DETERMINATION BY THE ADMINISTRATOR

8 WHETHER TO BAN USE OF MTBE.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years

10 after the date of enactment of this paragraph,

11 the Administrator shall ban use of methyl ter12 tiary butyl ether in gasoline unless the Adminis13 trator determines that the use of methyl ter14 tiary butyl ether in accordance with paragraph

15 (6) poses no substantial risk to water quality,

16 air quality, or human health.

17 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS CONCERNING PHASE18 OUT.—The Administrator may establish by reg19 ulation a schedule to phase out the use of meth20 yl tertiary butyl ether in gasoline during the pe21 riod preceding the effective date of the ban

22 under subparagraph (A).

23 ‘‘(6) LIMITATIONS ON SALE OF GASOLINE CON24 TAINING MTBE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (B), if the Administrator makes the de3 termination described in paragraph (5), for the

4 fourth full calendar year that begins after the

5 date of enactment of this paragraph and each

6 calendar year thereafter—

7 ‘‘(i) the quantity of gasoline sold or

8 introduced into commerce during the cal9 endar year by a refiner, blender, or im10 porter of gasoline shall contain on average

11 not more than 1 percent by volume methyl

12 tertiary butyl ether; and

13 ‘‘(ii) no person shall sell or introduce

14 into commerce any gasoline that contains

15 more than a specified percentage by vol16 ume methyl tertiary butyl ether, as deter17 mined by the Administrator by regulation.

18 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS CONCERNING TRAD19 ING.—

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

21 may promulgate regulations that provide

22 for the granting of an appropriate amount

23 of credits to a person that refines, blends,

24 or imports, and certifies to the Adminis25 trator, gasoline or a slate of gasoline that
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1 has a methyl tertiary butyl ether content

2 that is less than the maximum methyl ter3 tiary butyl ether content specified in sub4 paragraph (A)(i).

5 ‘‘(ii) USE OF CREDITS.—The regula6 tions promulgated under clause (i) shall

7 provide that a person that is granted cred8 its may use the credits, or transfer all or

9 a portion of the credits to another person,

10 for the purpose of complying with the max11 imum methyl tertiary butyl ether content

12 requirement specified in subparagraph

13 (A)(i).

14 ‘‘(iii) MAXIMUM ANNUAL LIMITA15 TION.—The regulations promulgated under

16 clause (i) shall ensure that the total quan17 tity of gasoline sold or introduced into

18 commerce during any calendar year by all

19 refiners, blenders, or importers contains on

20 average not more than 1 percent by volume

21 methyl tertiary butyl ether.

22 ‘‘(C) TEMPORARY WAIVER OF LIMITA23 TIONS.—

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Adminis25 trator, in consultation with the Secretary
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1 of Energy, finds, on the Administrator’s

2 own motion or on petition of any person,

3 that there is an insufficient domestic ca4 pacity to produce or import gasoline, the

5 Administrator may, in accordance with sec6 tion 307, temporarily waive the limitations

7 imposed under subparagraph (A).

8 ‘‘(ii) DURATION OF REDUCTION.—

9 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A waiver

10 under clause (i) shall remain in effect

11 for a period of 15 days unless the Ad12 ministrator, in consultation with the

13 Secretary of Energy, finds, before the

14 end of that period, that there is suffi15 cient domestic capacity to produce or

16 import gasoline.

17 ‘‘(II) EXTENSION.—Upon the ex18 piration of the 15-day period under

19 subclause (I), the waiver may be ex20 tended for an additional 15-day period

21 in accordance with clause (i).

22 ‘‘(iii) DEADLINE FOR ACTION ON PE23 TITIONS.—The Administrator shall act on

24 any petition submitted under clause (i)
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1 within 7 days after the date of receipt of

2 the petition.

3 ‘‘(iv) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN

4 REQUIREMENTS.—Section 307(d) of this

5 Act and sections 553 through 557 of title

6 5, United States Code, shall not apply to

7 any action on a petition submitted under

8 clause (i).

9 ‘‘(v) STATE AUTHORITY.—At the op10 tion of a State, a waiver under clause (i)

11 shall not apply to any area with respect to

12 which the State has exercised authority

13 under any other provision of law (including

14 subparagraph (D)) to limit the sale or use

15 of methyl tertiary butyl ether.

16 ‘‘(D) STATE PETITIONS TO ELIMINATE USE

17 OF MTBE.—

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State may sub19 mit to the Administrator a petition re20 questing authority to eliminate the use of

21 methyl tertiary butyl ether in gasoline sold

22 or introduced into commerce in the State

23 in order to protect air quality, water qual24 ity, or human health.
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1 ‘‘(ii) DEADLINE FOR ACTION ON PETI2 TIONS.—The Administrator shall grant or

3 deny any petition submitted under clause

4 (i) within 180 days after the date of re5 ceipt of the petition.’’.

6 SEC. 4. CONVENTIONAL GASOLINE.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 211(k)(1) of the Clean

8 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(k)(1)) (as amended by section

9 2) is amended by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(D) CONVENTIONAL GASOLINE.—

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Oc12 tober 1, 2007—

13 ‘‘(I) the Administrator shall de14 termine whether the use of conven15 tional gasoline during the period of

16 calendar years 2005 and 2006 re17 sulted in a greater volume of emis18 sions of criteria air pollutants listed

19 under section 108, and precursors of

20 those pollutants, determined on the

21 basis of a weighted average of those

22 pollutants and precursors, than the

23 volume of such emissions during the

24 period of calendar years 1998 and

25 1999; and
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1 ‘‘(II) if the Administrator deter2 mines that a significant increase in

3 emissions occurred, the Administrator

4 shall promulgate such regulations con5 cerning the use of conventional gaso6 line as are appropriate to eliminate

7 that increase.

8 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN

9 STATES.—The Administrator shall make

10 the determination under clause (i)(I) with11 out regard to, and the regulations promul12 gated under clause (i)(II) shall not apply

13 to, any State that has received a waiver

14 under section 209(b).’’.

15 (b) ELIMINATION OF ETHANOL WAIVER.—Section

16 211(h) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(h)) is

17 amended—

18 (1) by striking paragraph (4); and

19 (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para20 graph (4).

21 SEC. 5. PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

22 OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES.

23 Section 211(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.

24 7545(b)(2)) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘may also’’ and inserting ‘‘shall,

2 on a regular basis,’’; and

3 (2) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting

4 the following:

5 ‘‘(A) to conduct tests to determine poten6 tial public health and environmental effects of

7 the fuel or additive (including carcinogenic,

8 teratogenic, or mutagenic effects); and’’.

9 SEC. 6. COMPREHENSIVE FUEL STUDY.

10 Section 211 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545)

11 is amended—

12 (1) by redesignating subsection (o) as sub13 section (p); and

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (n) the fol15 lowing:

16 ‘‘(o) COMPREHENSIVE FUEL STUDY.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years

18 after the date of enactment of this paragraph and

19 every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator shall

20 submit to Congress a report—

21 ‘‘(A) describing reductions in emissions of

22 criteria air pollutants listed under section 108,

23 or precursors of those pollutants, that result

24 from implementation of this section;
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1 ‘‘(B) describing reductions in emissions of

2 toxic air pollutants that result from implemen3 tation of this section;

4 ‘‘(C) in consultation with the Secretary of

5 Energy, describing reductions in greenhouse gas

6 emissions that result from implementation of

7 this section; and

8 ‘‘(D)(i) describing regulatory options to

9 achieve reductions in the risk to public health

10 and the environment posed by fuels and fuel

11 additives—

12 ‘‘(I) taking into account the produc13 tion, handling, and consumption of the

14 fuels and fuel additives; and

15 ‘‘(II) focusing on options that reduce

16 the use of compounds or associated emis17 sion products that pose the greatest risk;

18 and

19 ‘‘(ii) making recommendations concerning

20 any statutory changes necessary to implement

21 the regulatory options described under clause

22 (i).

23 ‘‘(2) LIFE CYCLE EMISSIONS ANALYSIS.—In de24 termining criteria air pollutant and greenhouse gas

25 emission reductions under paragraph (1), the Ad-
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1 ministrator shall take into account the emissions re2 sulting from the various fuels and fuel additives

3 used in the implementation of this section over the

4 entire life cycle of the fuels and fuel additives.’’.

5 SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL OPT-IN AREAS UNDER REFORMU6 LATED GASOLINE PROGRAM.

7 Section 211(k)(6) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.

8 7545(k)(6)) is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘(6) OPT-IN AREAS.—(A)

10 Upon’’ and inserting the following:

11 ‘‘(6) OPT-IN AREAS.—

12 ‘‘(A) CLASSIFIED AREAS.—

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon’’;

14 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(B) If’’

15 and inserting the following:

16 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF INSUFFICIENT DO17 MESTIC CAPACITY TO PRODUCE REFORMU18 LATED GASOLINE.—If’’;

19 (3) in subparagraph (A)(ii) (as so redesig20 nated)—

21 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘sub22 paragraph (A)’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (i)’’; and

23 (B) in the second sentence, by striking

24 ‘‘this paragraph’’ and inserting ‘‘this subpara25 graph’’; and
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1 (4) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(B) NONCLASSIFIED AREAS.—

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In accordance

4 with section 110, a State may submit to

5 the Administrator, and the Administrator

6 may approve, a State implementation plan

7 revision that provides for application of the

8 prohibition specified in paragraph (5) in

9 any portion of the State that is not a cov10 ered area or an area referred to in sub11 paragraph (A)(i).

12 ‘‘(ii) PERIOD OF EFFECTIVENESS.—

13 Under clause (i), the State implementation

14 plan shall establish a period of effective15 ness for applying the prohibition specified

16 in paragraph (5) to a portion of a State

17 that—

18 ‘‘(I) commences not later than 1

19 year after the date of approval by the

20 Administrator of the State implemen21 tation plan; and

22 ‘‘(II) ends not earlier than 4

23 years after the date of commencement

24 under subclause (I).’’.
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1 SEC. 8. LEAKING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS.

2 (a) USE OF LUST FUNDS FOR REMEDIATION OF

3 MTBE CONTAMINATION.—Section 9003(h) of the Solid

4 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991b(h)) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (7)(A), by striking ‘‘para6 graphs (1) and (2) of this subsection,’’ and inserting

7 ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), and (12),’’; and

8 (2) by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(12) REMEDIATION OF MTBE CONTAMINA10 TION.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

12 and the States may use funds made available

13 under subparagraph (B) to carry out corrective

14 actions with respect to a release of methyl ter15 tiary butyl ether that presents a risk to human

16 health, welfare, or the environment.

17 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE AUTHORITY.—Subpara18 graph (A) shall be carried out—

19 ‘‘(i) in accordance with paragraph (2);

20 and

21 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a State, in a man22 ner consistent with a cooperative agree23 ment entered into by the Administrator

24 and the State under paragraph (7).

25 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA26 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated
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1 from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank

2 Trust Fund to carry out subparagraph (A)

3 $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, to remain

4 available until expended.’’.

5 (b) RELEASE PREVENTION.—Subtitle I of the Solid

6 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991 et seq.) is

7 amended—

8 (1) by redesignating section 9010 as section

9 9011; and

10 (2) by inserting after section 9009 the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘SEC. 9010. RELEASE PREVENTION.

13 ‘‘(a) IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVENTATIVE MEAS14 URES.—The Administrator (or a State pursuant to section

15 9003(h)(7)) may use funds appropriated from the Leaking

16 Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund for—

17 ‘‘(1) necessary expenses directly related to the

18 implementation of section 9003(h);

19 ‘‘(2) enforcement of—

20 ‘‘(A) this subtitle;

21 ‘‘(B) a State program approved under sec22 tion 9004; or

23 ‘‘(C) State requirements regulating under24 ground storage tanks that are similar or iden25 tical to this subtitle; and
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1 ‘‘(3) inspection of underground storage tanks.

2 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

3 are authorized to be appropriated from the Leaking Un4 derground Storage Tank Trust Fund to carry out sub5 section (a)—

6 ‘‘(1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; and

7 ‘‘(2) $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002

8 through 2005.’’.

9 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—

10 (1) Section 1001 of the Solid Waste Disposal

11 Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 6901) is amended by striking

12 the item relating to section 9010 and inserting the

13 following:

‘‘Sec. 9010. Release prevention.

‘‘Sec. 9011. Authorization of appropriations.’’.

14 (2) Section 9001(3)(A) of the Solid Waste Dis15 posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991(3)(A)) is amended by

16 striking ‘‘sustances’’ and inserting ‘‘substances’’.

17 (3) Section 9003(f)(1) of the Solid Waste Dis18 posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6991b(f)(1)) is amended by

19 striking ‘‘subsection (c) and (d) of this section’’ and

20 inserting ‘‘subsections (c) and (d)’’.

21 (4) Section 9004(a) of the Solid Waste Disposal

22 Act (42 U.S.C. 6991c(a)) is amended in the first

23 sentence by striking ‘‘referred to’’ and all that fol-
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1 lows and inserting ‘‘referred to in subparagraph (A)

2 or (B), or both, of section 9001(2).’’.

3 (5) Section 9005 of the Solid Waste Disposal

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 6991d) is amended—

5 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘study

6 taking’’ and inserting ‘‘study, taking’’;

7 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking

8 ‘‘relevent’’ and inserting ‘‘relevant’’; and

9 (C) in subsection (b)(4), by striking

10 ‘‘Evironmental’’ and inserting ‘‘Environ11 mental’’.

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