Proposed Boutique Fuels List Under Section 1541(b) of the Energy Policy Act and Request for Public Comment

Office of Transportation EPA420-F-06-036and Air Quality May 2006RegulatoryAnnouncementProposed Boutique Fuels List Under Section 1541(b) of the Energy Policy Act and Request for Public CommentThe Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish a Federal Register notice listing fuels that were approved in all State Implementation Plans (SIPs) as of September 1, 2004. The list includes the states and Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts (PADDs) where the fuels are used. Publication of the list is intended to reduce the number of different fuels required around the country and thus increase the fungibility of fuels.BackgroundThe EPAct requires EPA, in consultation with the Department of En-ergy, to determine the total number of fuels approved into all SIPs as of September 1, 2004. The EPAct also requires EPA to publish a list of such fuels (often referred to as “boutique fuels”), including the states and PADDs in which they are used, for public review and comment. EPA is publishing the list, as required by Congress, along with an explanation of the Agency's rationale in developing it.Under the Clean Air Act, state fuels programs respecting a fuel charac-teristic component that we have regulated under section 211(c)(1) are preempted. EPA may waive preemption through approval of the fuel program into a SIP. Approval into a SIP requires that the fuel program is necessary to achieve the ...