Section 43830 Of Article 3. Fuel And Fuel Tanks From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 26. >> Part 5. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 3.
43830
. (a) The state board shall establish, by regulation, maximum
standards for the volatility of gasoline at or below nine pounds per
square inch Reid vapor pressure as determined by the American Society
for Testing and Materials, Test D 323-58, or by an appropriate test
determined by the state board, for gasoline sold in this state.
(b) The state board, in adopting the regulations, shall give full
consideration to topography and climatic conditions and may provide
that the standards imposed thereby shall apply in those areas which
the state board determines necessary in order to carry out the
purposes of this division.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, until October 1,
1993, any blend of gasoline of at least 10 percent ethyl alcohol
shall not result in a violation of any regulation adopted by the
state board pursuant to this section unless the volatility of the
gasoline used in the blend exceeds the applicable standard of the
state board.
(d) For the purposes of this section, "ethyl alcohol" (also known
as ethanol) means fuel that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) It is produced from agricultural commodities, renewable
resources, or coal.
(2) It is rendered unsuitable for human consumption at the time of
its manufacture or immediately thereafter.
(e) For the purposes of determining the percentage of ethyl
alcohol contained in gasoline, the volume of alcohol includes the
volume of any denaturant approved for that purpose by the United
States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, provided these
denaturants do not exceed 5 percent of the volume of alcohol
(including denaturants).
(f) From October 1, 1993, to December 31, 1995, inclusive, any
blend of gasoline of at least 10 percent ethyl alcohol shall not
result in a violation of the Reid vapor pressure standard adopted by
the state board pursuant to this section unless it is determined by
the state board on the basis of independently verifiable automobile
exhaust and evaporative emission tests performed on a representative
fleet of automobiles that the blend would result in a net increase in
the ozone forming potential of the total emissions, excluding
emissions of oxides of nitrogen, when compared to the total
emissions, excluding emissions of oxides of nitrogen, from the same
automobile fleet using gasoline that meets all applicable
specifications for Phase I gasoline established by the state board.
(g) On and after January 1, 1996, any blend of gasoline of at
least 10 percent ethyl alcohol shall not result in a violation of the
Reid vapor pressure standard adopted by the state board pursuant to
this section unless it is determined by the state board on the basis
of independently verifiable automobile exhaust and evaporative
emission tests performed on a representative fleet of automobiles
that the blend would result in a net increase in the ozone forming
potential of the total emissions, excluding emissions of oxides of
nitrogen, when compared to the total emissions, excluding emissions
of oxides of nitrogen, from the same automobile fleet using gasoline
that meets all applicable specifications for Phase II gasoline
established by the state board.
(h) Notwithstanding subdivisions (f) and (g), at any time that the
state board adopts, by regulation, standards specifying acceptable
levels for emissions of oxides of nitrogen for all reformulated
fuels, any blend of gasoline of at least 10 percent ethyl alcohol
that exceeds those levels no longer qualifies for an exemption from
the Reid vapor pressure standard established by the state board.