WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a request to remove six Florida counties and seven North Carolina counties in the Raleigh and Greensboro areas from the 7.8 pounds per square inch (psi) Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) federal fuel requirement to 9.0 psi for the summer months. The effective date is May 30.

EPA approved a request from Florida to relax the federal RVP standard applicable to gasoline introduced into commerce in the Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville areas. The agency also approved a similar request from North Carolina to relax the RVP standard in the Raleigh and Greensboro areas. These changes apply during the summer high ozone season — June 1 to September 15.

EPA says it has removed the counties from the RVP requirement because both Florida and North Carolina have demonstrated that their respective counties comply with ozone air quality standards. Removal of this requirement will allow greater flexibility for fuel distribution during the summer months.

• The Florida counties affected: Broward, Dade, Duval, Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Pinellas.
• The North Carolina counties affected: Durham, Granville, Wake, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth and Guilford.

“This action is especially important during hurricane season when greater adaptability is needed for the fuel distribution system to support an adequate supply,” said EPA Regional Administrator Heather McTeer Toney, in a press release.

Since the early 1990s, the six counties in the Florida and seven counties in North Carolina were subject to the RVP requirement to help the areas come into and maintain compliance with federal ozone standards.

To learn more, read EPA’s Regulatory Announcement.