Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2004-0053-0004
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2004-10-14T04:00Z

Results
of
Section
610
Review
of
Fuel
and
Fuel
Additive
Registration
Regulations
On
June
27,
1994
(
59
FR
33042),
EPA
promulgated
a
rulemaking
laying
out
the
requirements
for
registering
fuel
and
fuel
additives
under
Section
211
of
the
Clean
Air
Act.
These
requirements
are
codifed
in
the
Code
of
Federal
Regulations
at
40
CFR
Part
79.
Pursuant
to
Section
610
of
the
Regulatory
Flexibility
Act,
EPA
has
reviewed
this
rule
to
determine
if
it
should
be
continued
without
change,
or
should
be
rescinded
or
amended
to
minimize
adverse
economic
impacts
on
small
entities.
EPA
considered,
and
solicited
comments
on,
the
following
factors:
(
1)
The
continued
need
for
the
rule;
(
2)
the
nature
of
complaints
or
comments
received
concerning
the
rule;
(
3)
the
complexity
of
the
rule;
(
4)
the
extent
to
which
the
rule
overlaps,
duplicates,
or
conflicts
with
other
Federal,
State,
or
local
government
rules;
and
(
5)
the
degree
to
which
technology,
economic
conditions,
or
other
factors
have
changed
in
the
area
affected
by
the
rule.
The
results
of
EPA's
review
are
summarized
here.

Background
Pursuant
to
regulations
at
40
CFR
79,
promulgated
under
sections
211(
a)
and
(
b)
of
the
Clean
Air
Act,
manufacturers
and
importers
of
motor­
vehicle
gasoline,
motor­
vehicle
diesel
fuel,
and
additives
to
those
fuels,
are
required
to
have
those
products
registered
by
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency
prior
to
their
introduction
into
commerce.
Registration
involves
providing
a
chemical
description
of
the
fuel
or
additive,
and
certain
technical,
marketing,
and
health­
effects
information.
In
certain
cases
health­
effects
testing
is
required.
However,
a
small
business
is
generally
exempt
from
this
testing.
Only
if
a
small
business
has
a
product
with
unusual
chemistry,
must
if
perform
some
testing.
However,
this
testing
is
considerably
less
burdensome
than
for
a
large
manufacturer.
The
information
is
used
to
screen
for
any
fuels
or
additives
whose
evaporative
or
combustion
emissions
may
pose
an
unreasonable
risk
to
public
health,
thus
meriting
further
investigation
under
provisions
in
the
regulations.
The
information
is
also
used
to
insure
that
these
fuels
and
additives
do
not
contain
components
that
could
damage
emission
controls,
such
as
catalytic
converters
and
oxygen
sensors.

Discussion
of
Five
Factors
1.
Continued
need
for
the
rule.

One
of
the
factors
that
must
be
considered
in
a
section
610
review
is
the
continued
need
for
the
rule
under
review.
The
Agency
finds
that
there
is
a
continued
need
for
the
rule,
which
is
required
by
the
Clean
Air
Act.
The
Agency
registers
about
500
new
fuel
additives,
and
50
new
gasoline
and
diesel
fuels,
each
year.
Without
these
regulations,
new
fuels
and
additives
could
enter
commerce
without
any
health­
effects
screening,
with
the
potential
for
subjecting
the
public
to
harmful
emissions.
2.
Nature
of
complaints
or
comments
received
concerning
the
rule.

No
comments
were
received.

3.
Complexity
of
the
rule.

The
Agency
must
also
consider
the
complexity
of
the
rule
under
review.
The
rule
is
inherently
complex
in
that
it
requires
an
advanced
knowledge
of
emissions
and
animal­
exposure
testing
in
order
to
comply
with
the
registration
requirements.
However,
in
the
highly
competitive
fuel
and
additive
industry,
such
knowledge
is
necessary
in
order
to
be
successful.
Nevertheless,
the
regulations
exempt
or
significantly
reduce
these
burdens
for
small
businesses
to
the
extent
possible
within
the
scope
of
the
Clean
Air
Act
mandate
authorizing
the
rule.

4.
Extent
to
which
the
rule
overlaps,
duplicates,
or
conflicts
with
other
federal,
state,
or
local
government
rules.

The
Agency
must
also
consider
the
extent
to
which
this
rule
overlaps,
duplicates,
or
conflicts
with
other
federal,
state,
or
local
government
rules.
The
Agency
has
no
evidence
to
suggest
that
this
rule
would
duplicate
or
conflict
with
any
other
rule.

5.
The
degree
to
which
technology,
economic
conditions,
or
other
factors
have
changed
in
the
area
affected
by
the
rule.

Finally,
the
Agency
must
consider
the
length
of
time
since
the
rule
in
question
has
been
evaluated,
or
the
degree
to
which
technology,
economic
conditions,
or
other
factors
have
changed
in
the
area
affected
by
the
rule
under
review.
There
have
been
no
changes
in
technology,
economic
conditions,
or
other
factors
that
would
warrant
revision
of
the
rule.

Conclusion
New
gasoline
and
diesel
fuels,
and
new
fuel
additives,
are
continually
being
developed.
This
rule
continues
to
serve
as
a
very
important
gatekeeper
to
protect
the
public
from
potentially
harmful
emissions
from
motor
vehicles,
while
providing
significant
relief
to
small
businesses.
EPA
has
considered
the
potential
effects
on
small
business
continually
as
this
rule
was
developed
and
as
it
continues
to
be
implemented.
Via
exemptions
and
other
burden
reductions,
we
have
mitigated
any
burdens
for
small
businesses
to
the
extent
possible
within
the
scope
of
the
Clean
Air
Act
mandate
authorizing
the
rule.