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Benzene in Gasoline Regulations (SOR/97-493)

Regulations are current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2018-02-02. Previous Versions

Benzene in Gasoline Regulations

SOR/97-493

CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT, 1999

Registration 1997-11-06

Benzene in Gasoline Regulations

P.C. 1997-1621 1997-11-06

Whereas, pursuant to subsection 48(1) of the Canadian Environmental Protection ActFootnote a, the Minister of the Environment published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on May 3, 1997, a copy of the proposed Benzene in Gasoline Regulations, substantially in the annexed form, and an opportunity was given to persons to file a notice of objection to the proposed Regulations with the Minister of the Environment pursuant to subsection 48(2) of that Act;

And Whereas, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, pursuant to subsection 34(3) of that Act, the proposed Regulations do not regulate any aspect of a substance that is regulated by or under any other Act of Parliament;

Therefore, His Excellency the Governor General in Council, pursuant to sections 34Footnote b and 87 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Acta, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health and after the federal-provincial advisory committee has been given an opportunity to provide its advice under section 6 of that Act, hereby makes the annexed Benzene in Gasoline Regulations.

Interpretation

  •  (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in these Regulations.

    Act

    Act means the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. (Loi)

    additive

    additive means a substance that is added to gasoline that does not materially affect its composition and that has been demonstrated to improve the gasoline’s characteristics so as to enhance engine performance and includes metal deactivators, oxidation inhibitors, corrosion inhibitors, icing inhibitors and induction system detergents. (additif)

    additives

    additives[Repealed, SOR/99-204, s. 1]

    aromatics

    aromatics means benzene and other cyclic hydrocarbon compounds that contain one or more benzene rings as determined by the method specified in subsection 5(2). (aromatiques)

    auditor

    auditor means an individual or a firm that is certified, for the purpose of carrying out International Organization for Standardization quality assurance (ISO 14000 or 9000 series) assessments, by the International Register of Certificated Auditors or by any other nationally or internationally recognized accreditation organization. (vérificateur)

    authorized official

    authorized official means

    • (a) in respect of a corporation, an officer of the corporation who is authorized to act on its behalf;

    • (b) in respect of any other person, that person or a person authorized to act on behalf of that person; and

    • (c) in respect of any other entity, a person authorized to act on its behalf. (agent autorisé)

    batch

    batch means an identifiable quantity of gasoline that can be characterized by one set of model parameters, as sampled and measured in accordance with section 5 or 6. (lot)

    benzene emissions number

    benzene emissions number means the number calculated in accordance with Schedule 1. (indice des émissions de benzène)

    blend

    blend means to manufacture or process a batch by mixing gasoline or gasoline components, including oxygenates. It does not include

    • (a) the mixing of only complying gasolines, U.S. reformulated gasolines or California gasolines or any combination of those gasolines; or

    • (b) the adding of only additives, commercially pure butane or commercially pure oxygenates to complying gasoline, U.S. reformulated gasoline or California gasoline. (mélange)

    blender

    blender means a person who

    • (a) owns, leases, operates, controls, supervises or manages a blending facility; or

    • (b) owns the gasoline in a blending facility. (mélangeur)

    blending facility

    blending facility means a facility in Canada in which blending occurs, and includes a cargo tanker, railway car, boat, marine vessel or other type of mobile facility in which blending occurs. (installation de mélange)

    California gasoline

    California gasoline means gasoline that

    • (a) meets the compositional requirements described in The California Reformulated Gasoline Regulations, Title 13, California Code of Regulations, Division 3, Chapter 5, Article 1, Subarticle 2; and

    • (b) has been identified as California gasoline under subsection 9(1) of these Regulations. (essence Californie)

    California Phase 2 gasoline

    California Phase 2 gasoline[Repealed, SOR/2003-318, s. 1]

    cargo tanker

    cargo tanker means a motor vehicle or trailer on which a bulk liquid tank is mounted. (camion-citerne)

    commercially pure butane

    commercially pure butane means butane (C4H10) that meets the following contaminate levels:

    • (a) a benzene concentration that does not exceed 0.03% by volume;

    • (b) an aromatics concentration that does not exceed 2.0% by volume; and

    • (c) a sulphur concentration that does not exceed

      • (i) until December 31, 2004, 140 mg/kg, and

      • (ii) after December 31, 2004, 40 mg/kg. (butane pur de qualité commerciale)

    commercially pure oxygenate

    commercially pure oxygenate means an oxygenate that meets the following contaminate levels:

    • (a) a benzene concentration that does not exceed 0.25% by volume;

    • (b) an aromatics concentration that does not exceed 2.5% by volume; and

    • (c) a sulphur concentration that does not exceed

      • (i) until December 31, 2004, 170 mg/kg, and

      • (ii) after December 31, 2004, 40 mg/kg. (produit oxygéné pur de qualité commerciale)

    competition vehicle

    competition vehicle means a vehicle, boat or marine vessel that is used exclusively for competition. (véhicule de compétition)

    complying gasoline

    complying gasoline means gasoline that meets the compositional requirements of these Regulations relating to benzene and the benzene emissions number and that has been identified as

    • (a) complying gasoline under subsection 9(1) or (2); or

    • (b) northern winter complying gasoline under subsection 9(1). (essence conforme)

    gasoline

    gasoline means

    • (a) a fuel that is sold or represented as gasoline; or

    • (b) a petroleum distillate, or a mixture of petroleum distillates, oxygenates or additives, that is suitable for use in a spark ignition engine and that has the following characteristics, as determined from the applicable test method listed in the National Standard of Canada standard CAN/CGSB-3.5-2016, Automotive gasoline:

      • (i) a vapour pressure of at least 35 kPa,

      • (ii) an antiknock index of at least 80,

      • (iii) a distillation temperature at which 10% of the fuel has evaporated of not less than 35°C and not greater than 70°C, and

      • (iv) a distillation temperature at which 50% of the fuel has evaporated of not less than 60°C and not greater than 120°C. (essence)

    gasoline-like blendstock

    gasoline-like blendstock means gasoline, other than gasoline dispensed from a refuelling facility, that is intended to be further refined or blended so as to result in complying gasoline and that has been identified as gasoline-like blendstock under section 9. (composé de base de type essence automobile)

    grade

    grade means the differentiation of gasoline by a minimum antiknock index. (qualité)

    highway

    highway means a common or public road, street, avenue, parkway, driveway, square, bridge or viaduct, any part of which is intended for or used by the general public for the passage of vehicles, and includes areas between their lateral property lines. (voie publique)

    import

    import means to import gasoline into Canada, except gasoline that is imported in the fuel tank of a conveyance and that is for the use of the conveyance’s engine. (importation)

    manufacturer

    manufacturer means a person who owns, leases, operates, controls, supervises or manages a refinery. (fabricant)

    model parameters

    model parameters means

    • (a) the concentration of oxygen as a percentage of the gasoline by weight;

    • (b) the concentration of sulphur in mg/kg;

    • (c) the vapour pressure at 37.8°C (100°F) in kPa;

    • (d) the evaporative fraction at 93.3°C (200°F) as a percentage of the gasoline by volume;

    • (e) the evaporative fraction at 148.9°C (300°F) as a percentage of the gasoline by volume;

    • (f) the concentration of aromatics as a percentage of the gasoline by volume; and

    • (g) the concentration of benzene as a percentage of the gasoline by volume. (paramètres du modèle)

    northern supply area

    northern supply area means Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, that part of Quebec that is north of latitude 51°N and that part of Newfoundland and Labrador that is north of latitude 49°N. (zone d’approvisionnement du Nord)

    olefins

    olefins means unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds that contain one or more double bonds as determined by the method specified in subsection 5(3). (oléfines)

    oxygenate

    oxygenate means an oxygen-containing, ashless, organic compound that, when added to gasoline, increases the oxygen content in the gasoline. (produit oxygéné)

    primary supplier

    primary supplier means

    • (a) in respect of gasoline that is manufactured at a refinery or blended at a blending facility, a person who

      • (i) owns, leases, operates, controls, supervises or manages the refinery or blending facility, or

      • (ii) owns the gasoline in the blending facility; and

    • (b) in respect of gasoline that is imported, the importer. (fournisseur principal)

    quality control program

    quality control program means a combination of testing, statistical techniques and inter-laboratory comparisons used to verify that a laboratory’s analysis of a sample accurately reflects the composition of the gasoline from which the sample was taken. (programme de contrôle de la qualité)

    refinery

    refinery means a facility in Canada that separates and converts crude oil or other feedstock into liquid petroleum products, and includes any manufacturing, processing, blending, shipping and packaging facilities located on the property of such a facility. (raffinerie)

    scientific research

    scientific research does not include research into the preferences of consumers for differing properties of gasoline or marketing research. (recherche scientifique)

    statistical quality assurance program

    statistical quality assurance program means a combination of testing and statistical techniques used to determine whether gasoline meets the compositional requirements of these Regulations relating to benzene and the benzene emissions number. (programme statistique d’assurance de la qualité)

    summer

    summer means the period beginning on April 15 and ending on the following September 15. (été)

    supply

    supply means to manufacture at a refinery, blend in a blending facility or import into a province from outside Canada, gasoline for use or sale in Canada. (approvisionnement)

    U.S. reformulated gasoline

    U.S. reformulated gasoline means reformulated gasoline as defined in the Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Standards for Reformulated and Conventional Gasoline in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Part 80, section 80.2, paragraph (ee). (essence reformulée É.-U.)

    winter

    winter means the period beginning on September 16 of each year and ending on April 14 of the following year. (hiver)

    year

    year means a calendar year, except during 1999, when it means the period beginning on July 1 and ending on December 31. (année)

    yearly pool average

    yearly pool average means the volume-weighted average value for concentration of benzene or the benzene emissions number of gasoline supplied by a primary supplier during a year. (moyenne annuelle)

  • (2) Any regulation, standard or method that is incorporated by reference in these Regulations is incorporated as amended from time to time.

  • SOR/99-204, s. 1
  • SOR/2000-102, s. 25
  • SOR/2003-318, s. 1
  • SOR/2004-252, s. 1(F)
  • SOR/2018-11, ss. 6, 14(F)

Application — Types and Uses of Gasoline

  •  (1) Subject to sections 7 and 9 to 11, these Regulations do not apply to gasoline for use in

    • (a) aircraft;

    • (b) competition vehicles, provided that the gasoline has an antiknock index of at least 100; or

    • (c) scientific research in Canada.

  • (2) Subject to sections 9 to 11, these Regulations do not apply to

    • (a) gasoline in transit through Canada, from a place outside Canada to another place outside Canada, and accompanied by written evidence establishing that the gasoline is in transit; or

    • (b) gasoline produced or sold for export and accompanied by written evidence establishing that the gasoline will be exported.

  • (3) Subsection 3(1) and sections 4, 16 and 17 do not apply to U.S. reformulated gasoline or California gasoline.

  • (4) Subject to sections 7 and 9 to 13 and subsections 18(4) and 19(3), these Regulations do not apply to gasoline-like blendstock.

  • (5) Any batch that is supplied during the summer but is intended for use during the winter in the northern supply area is considered to be supplied during the winter if the primary supplier identifies the batch under subsection 9(1) as northern winter complying gasoline.

  • (6) These Regulations do not apply to gasoline that has been stored in the northern supply area for the purpose of providing gasoline to persons in emergency situations if the gasoline was supplied before July 1, 1999 and stored before July 1, 2000.

  • SOR/99-204, s. 2
  • SOR/2003-318, s. 2

PART 1Requirements Pertaining to Benzene in Gasoline

Benzene — Prohibition

  •  (1) Effective July 1, 1999 and subject to section 15, no primary supplier shall supply gasoline that contains benzene at a concentration that exceeds 1.0% by volume.

  • (2) No person shall sell or offer for sale gasoline that contains benzene at a concentration that exceeds 1.5% by volume

    • (a) in the northern supply area, effective July 1, 2000;

    • (b) in all areas identified in an application under paragraph 16(3)(b) in respect of which the Minister has authorized the use of a temporary alternative limit, effective April 1, 2000; and

    • (c) in any other area in Canada not described in paragraph (a) and (b), effective October 1, 1999.

  • SOR/99-204, s. 3
 

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