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Sulphur in Gasoline Regulations (SOR/99-236)

Regulations are current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2020-12-16. Previous Versions

Sulphur in Gasoline Regulations

SOR/99-236

CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT, 1999

Registration 1999-06-04

Sulphur in Gasoline Regulations

P.C. 1999-1023 1999-06-04

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 October 31, 1998, a copy of the proposed Sulphur in Gasoline Regulations, substantially in the form set out in the annexed regulations, and persons were given an opportunity to file a notice of objection requesting that a board of review be established and stating the reasons for the objection;

And whereas, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, the concentration of sulphur in gasoline prescribed in the annexed regulations, if exceeded, would, on the combustion of the gasoline in ordinary circumstances, result in a significant contribution to air pollution;

Therefore, His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to sections 47Footnote b and 87 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Acta, hereby makes the annexed Sulphur 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)

    auditor

    auditor[Repealed, SOR/2015-187, s. 1]

    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 with a single concentration of sulphur, as sampled and measured in accordance with section 3. (lot)

    blend

    blend means the production of a batch by mixing gasoline or gasoline components, including oxygenates. It does not include

    • (a) the mixing of only low-sulphur gasolines; or

    • (b) the adding of only additives, sulphur-limited oxygenates or sulphur-limited butane to low-sulphur gasoline. (mélange)

    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[Repealed, SOR/2015-187, s. 1]

    California Phase 2 gasoline

    California Phase 2 gasoline[Repealed, SOR/2003-319, s. 1]

    cargo tanker

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

    competition vehicle

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

    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 by the applicable test method listed in the National Standard of Canada CAN/CGSB-3.5-2011, entitled 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 to produce low-sulphur gasoline and that has been identified as gasoline-like blendstock under section 5. (composé de base de type essence automobile)

    grade

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

    imported

    imported[Repealed, SOR/2000-104, s. 5]

    low-sulphur gasoline

    low-sulphur gasoline means gasoline that meets the requirements of subsections 2(1) to (3) and that has been identified as low-sulphur gasoline under section 5. (essence à faible teneur en soufre)

    oxygenate

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

    pool average

    pool average means the volume-weighted average concentration of sulphur in gasoline that, during a year, is produced at a refinery or blending facility or imported, as calculated in accordance with section 10. (moyenne de l’ensemble des lots)

    primary supplier

    primary supplier means

    • (a) in respect of gasoline that is produced at a refinery or 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)

    produced

    produced[Repealed, SOR/2000-104, s. 5]

    refinery

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

    registration number

    registration number means a number provided by the Minister pursuant to section 7 of the Benzene in Gasoline Regulations. (numéro d’enregistrement)

    scientific research

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

    sulphur-limited butane

    sulphur-limited butane means butane with a sulphur concentration that does not exceed the applicable limit set out in paragraph 2(1)(b). (butane à concentration limitée en soufre)

    sulphur-limited oxygenate

    sulphur-limited oxygenate means an oxygenate with a sulphur concentration that does not exceed the applicable limit set out in paragraph 2(1)(b). (produit oxygéné à concentration limitée en soufre)

    trading system

    trading system means the temporary sulphur compliance unit trading system referred to in subsection 13(1). (système d’échange)

    year

    year means a calendar year. (année)

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

Application

 These Regulations do not apply to gasoline if

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

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

  • (c) [Repealed, SOR/2015-187, s. 2]

  • (d) the gasoline is being imported in a fuel tank that supplies the engine of a conveyance that is used for transportation by water, land or air.

  • SOR/2003-319, s. 2
  • SOR/2009-93, s. 1(E)
  • SOR/2015-187, s. 2

PART 1Requirements Pertaining to Sulphur in Gasoline

Prescribed Levels

  •  (1) For the purpose of section 139 of the Act, the concentration of sulphur in each batch of gasoline produced or imported by a primary supplier shall not exceed

    • (a) in the case where the primary supplier has elected under section 9 to calculate the concentration of sulphur in that gasoline on the basis of a pool average, 80 mg/kg; and

    • (b) in any other case, 12 mg/kg.

  • (2) For the purpose of section 139 of the Act and subject to subsection (2.1), the pool average of a pool in respect of which a primary supplier has made an election under section 9 shall not exceed 10 mg/kg.

  • (2.1) For the purpose of subsection 139 of the Act, if a primary supplier uses sulphur compliance units to adjust a pool average in accordance with section 15, the adjusted pool average shall not exceed 10 mg/kg.

  • (3) For the purpose of section 139 of the Act, the concentration of sulphur in gasoline that is sold shall not exceed 80 mg/kg.

  • (4) Subsections (1) to (3) do not apply to

    • (a) gasoline for use in aircraft, if the gasoline has an octane number of at least 99.5 or contains at least 5 mg/L of lead;

    • (b) gasoline for use in competition vehicles, if the gasoline has an antiknock index of at least 100;

    • (c) gasoline for use in scientific research in Canada; or

    • (d) [Repealed, SOR/2000-104, s. 6]

    • (e) gasoline-like blendstock.

  • (5) [Repealed, SOR/2015-187, s. 3]

Methods for Sampling and Analysis

  •  (1) For the purposes of these Regulations, when a primary supplier takes samples they shall use one of the following methods:

    • (a) in the case where the primary supplier is using an alternative sampling method in accordance with subsection 6(1) of the Benzene in Gasoline Regulations, that sampling method;

    • (b) in any other case, the sampling method described in the National Standard of Canada CAN/CGSB-3.5-2016, entitled Automotive Gasoline.

  • (2) For the purposes of these Regulations,

    • (a) the concentration of sulphur in gasoline and the concentration of sulphur in an oxygenate shall be measured in accordance with the ASTM International test method D5453-19a, entitled Standard Test Method for Determination of Total Sulfur in Light Hydrocarbons, Spark Ignition Engine Fuel, Diesel Engine Fuel, and Engine Oil by Ultraviolet Fluorescence; and

    • (b) the concentration of sulphur in butane shall be measured in accordance with the ASTM International test method D6667-14(2019), entitled Standard Test Method for Determination of Total Volatile Sulfur in Gaseous Hydrocarbons and Liquefied Petroleum Gases by Ultraviolet Fluorescence.

  • (3) to (5) [Repealed, SOR/2003-319, s. 4]

  • (6) For the purposes of sections 12, 24 and 25, if a primary supplier is using an alternative method in accordance with subsection 6(2) of the Benzene in Gasoline Regulations, they may use that method to analyze samples of gasoline.

  • (7) Despite subsection (6), compliance with a requirement set out in section 2 shall be determined in accordance with the test methods set out in subsection (2).

 [Repealed, SOR/2015-187, s. 5]

Records of Type of Gasoline

  •  (1) A primary supplier may, before importing a batch of gasoline or dispatching one from a refinery or blending facility, identify the gasoline by recording it as one of the following types:

    • (a) low-sulphur gasoline;

    • (b) gasoline for use in aircraft;

    • (c) gasoline for use in competition vehicles;

    • (d) gasoline for use in scientific research;

    • (e) gasoline for export;

    • (f) gasoline in transit through Canada; or

    • (g) [Repealed, SOR/2015-187, s. 6]

    • (h) gasoline-like blendstock.

  • (2) Any batch of gasoline dispatched by a primary supplier from a refinery or blending facility, or imported by a primary supplier, that has not been identified and recorded under subsection (1) is considered, for the purposes of these Regulations, to have been identified as low-sulphur gasoline.

  • (3) A primary supplier shall, for each batch of gasoline that is identified as a type referred to in any of paragraphs (1)(b) to (f), keep a record of its type and the use for which it was sold or delivered.

  • SOR/2003-319, s. 6
  • SOR/2015-187, s. 6

Gasoline-like Blendstock

  •  (1) Before any batch of gasoline-like blendstock is dispatched from a refinery or blending facility, or imported or sold, the person who dispatches, imports or sells the batch shall make a record that identifies the fuel as “gasoline-like blendstock that is intended to be further refined or blended to produce low-sulphur gasoline” and that contains the following information:

    • (a) the name and address of the person who dispatched, imported or sold the batch;

    • (b) the name and address of the primary supplier who originally produced or imported the batch;

    • (c) the registration number pertaining to the refinery or blending facility at which the batch was produced or to the province into which the batch had originally been imported;

    • (d) the name and address of the person who purchases or receives the batch and the name and address of the facility to which the batch is dispatched;

    • (e) the date of the dispatch, importation or sale of the batch; and

    • (f) the volume of the batch that is scheduled to be dispatched or imported.

  • (2) No person shall sell a batch of gasoline-like blendstock without providing the person purchasing or receiving the batch, before the transfer of possession or ownership of the batch, with a copy of the record that the seller is required to make under subsection (1).

  • (3) [Repealed, SOR/2015-187, s. 7]

  • SOR/2003-319, s. 7
  • SOR/2015-187, s. 7
 

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