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MOBILE SOURCE AIR TOXICS (MSAT)

More Information on MSAT

Section 202(L) of the Clean Air Act directed EPA to complete a study of toxic air pollution from mobile sources, including both vehicles and fuels by May 15, 1992. Section 202(L) specifically mentions that benzene, formaldehyde, and 1,3-butadiene should be included in the study, which was to focus on air toxic emissions that posed the most significant risk to human health. As a result of the study, EPA was required to develop regulations by May 15, 1995, that contained reasonable requirements to control toxic air emissions from motor vehicles and fuels. The date for implementing these regulations slipped, with the Agency being required - due to a settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club - to propose regulations by July 2000 and promulgate them by December 2000. The Agency promulgated an annual average "anti-backsliding" toxics standard for gasoline effective in 2002 (66 FR 17230; 3/29/01). EPA's Mobile Source Air Toxics (MSAT) Phase 1 rule is refinery specific and is based on average 1998-2000 reformulated and conventional gasoline (RFG and CG, respectively) parameter values (see 40 CFR 80.815).

Summary of EPA's MSAT Phase 1 standards:

• If refineries are aggregated for conventional gasoline (CG) anti-dumping (40 CFR 80.90), they shall also be aggregated for MSAT anti-backsliding.
• There are separate MSAT baselines and compliance for RFG and CG.
• No MSAT toxics credit trading. MSAT deficits and overcompliance credits may be carried over for one year. The compliance period is a calendar year.
• CG anti-dumping (40 CFR 80.90) is not repealed. Refiners must comply with both anti-dumping and MSAT anti-backsliding standards for CG.
• Incremental volumes of gasoline produced above the baseline volume are subject to RFG (40 CFR 80.41) or anti-dumping CG (40 CFR 80.90) toxics standards, not to the new (more stringent) MSAT anti-backsliding toxics performance requirements.
• California gasoline produced for use in California is excluded from MSAT Phase 1.

For EPA information:
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/toxics.htm