Federal Reformulated Gasoline (RFG)
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Federal Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) is required in severe ozone non attainment areas pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act Amendments (FCAA) of 1990. The "severe" ozone non attainment areas in California that are subject to the Federal RFG requirements are: South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) and Ventura County, San Diego County, Sacramento Metropolitan Area, and the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin (please see the map below for specific areas). The Federal RFG requirements apply to approximately 80 percent of California's gasoline.
California Federal RFG Areas Map
1. Southern California (South Coast AQMD, Ventura, and San Diego Counties)
2. Northern California (Sacramento Metropolitan)
On April 25, 1995, U.S. EPA published in the Federal Register a reclassification under the Clean Air Act of the Sacramento Metro ozone non-attainment area from "Serious" to "Severe" (60 FR 20238). As a result of this reclassification, all gasoline marketed in this area after June 1, 1996, must comply with federal reformulated gasoline (Federal RFG) specifications. The following maps represent the Sacramento Metro area as defined by the U.S. EPA and published in the Federal Register on November 6, 1991 (56 FR 56728).
3. San Joaquin Valley
In the Federal Register Notice published November 8, 2001 (66 FR 56476), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took final action to change the boundary for the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) serious ozone non-attainment area by separating out the eastern portion of Kern County into its own non-attainment area. The revised boundaries for the SJV ozone non-attainment area can be found in Section 81.305 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. In the same rulemaking EPA found that the SJV area did not attain the 1-hour ozone national ambient air quality standard by the November 15, 1999 Clean Air Act deadline. As a result, the SJV ozone non-attainment area with its revised boundaries was reclassified as a severe non-attainment area. The effective date of these actions is December 10, 2001.
Clean Air Act Section 211(k)(10)(D) requires that an area be subject to the federal Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) regulations effective one year after reclassification as a severe ozone non-attainment area. Thus, the federal RFG regulations will apply to the SJV non-attainment area with its revised boundaries effective December 10, 2002.
- San Joaquin Valley Ozone Non-attainment Area Map
- Kern County (Including Portions of County Within and Outside SJV Non-attainment Area) Map
4. Other Information