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Ministry of Environment

Cleaner Gasoline Regulation (CGR)

The Ministry of Environment has made amendments to the Cleaner Gasoline Regulation (CGR) under the Environmental Management Act. 

The amendments address two issues:

  • They allow for the distribution and wholesale purchase of automotive ethanol-blended fuel (E85) in B.C.: Amendment (PDF/37 KB)
  • They phase out the Reid Vapour Pressure (RVP) waiver, which allows ethanol-blended gasoline in the Lower Fraser Valley (LFV) to exceed the prescribed limits for vapour pressure during warmer months of the year: Amendment (PDF/86 KB)

Background Information

The previous regulation referenced two Canadian General Standard Board (CGSB) standards in their entirety, which effectively disallowed the sale of E85.  Further, the B.C. Renewable and Low Carbon Fuel Requirements Regulation (RLCFRR) came into effect January 1, 2010, requiring an average of 5% ethanol in all gasoline sold in British Columbia. The scheduled phasing out of the RVP waiver will help ensure that no negative effects on air quality result from the increased ethanol present in gasoline.

The intentions paper for the regulation was posted in August, 2009 [Policy Intentions Paper for Consultation (PDF/92 KB)]. Comments were solicited for a period of 45 days [Summary of Public Comment (PDF/182 KB)].

As a result of public comment on the intentions paper, the ministry updated its intentions for the CGR amendment  to incorporate stakeholder feedback. These changed policy intentions included:

    • Retaining the summertime 7kPA waiver (relaxation of CGSB standards) for the Lower Fraser Valley (for all blends of gasoline) until January 1st, 2013 (unchanged from IP).
    • Addition of a new year-round 7kPA waiver (relaxation of CGSB standards) for the Lower Fraser Valley (for mid-grade, premium grade and super premium grade) until January 1st, 2013 (New).
    • Addition of a new year-round 7kPA waiver (relaxation of CGSB standards) for outside the Lower Fraser Valley (for regular, mid-grade, premium grade and super premium grade) until January 1st, 2013 (New).

Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions associated with the  temporary relaxation of the CGSB standards are a very small percentage of the total VOC emissions. Based on this small percentage, the regional distribution of the emissions increment, and evidence from other air quality modelling studies, the changes in regional air quality were expected to be very minor.

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