ILTA Continues Advocacy on Gasoline Distribution and NSPS Subpart Kc Final Rules

Article provided by Harold Laurence, Principal Consultant & SME - Storage Tanks and Fuels/Liquids Logistics for Trinity Consultants

On July 16, ILTA, API, and AFPM met with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Research Triangle Park, NC to continue conversations around the associations' joint petition against the 2024 Gasoline Distribution (GD) and NSPS Subpart Kc final rules. 

The coalition has agreed with EPA and DOJ that EPA can keep the Kc court challenge in abeyance until the date the reconsideration takes place—i.e., the coalition has seen good progress from EPA on resolving our concerns about modification, slotted guidepoles, and other issues. All three associations have until August 8 to meet the next checkpoint in the court case on the GD Rules. At this stage, we believe progress is being made, though the GD Rules still carry a compliance deadline of May 2027. (Kc doesn’t have an impending compliance date because it applies only to new or modified tanks.)

Because we anticipate significant and favorable changes through the reconsideration process, we still urgently need relief from the 2027 deadline to avoid premature capital expenditures on VCU/VRU upgrades before the final direction of the rule is known.

Both ILTA and EPA want the rule reconsideration to be a single rulemaking action that amends the GD Rules and Kc to solve all questions raised.  On most of the big issues, we have at least an inclination on how they will play out.   

• EPA is going to use ILTA’s 2024 emissions test as justification to change the rule’s unworkable VCU monitoring provisions - our biggest issue on the table right now is exactly how they are going to do that.  After our proposals in November and April (the 400 °F option and fixes to the NHV alternative monitoring option), EPA made a counter proposal at our July 16 meeting that we consider creative but of uncertain merit. 
• We are seeing big wins on the VRU front, with EPA returning to the 6-hour instead of 3-hour average, and with EPA taking all of our recommendations about how to deal with VRU CEMS downtime.
• EPA is likely to concede that prior truck load can be assumed to be the same as actively loaded liquid, though they are countering that they may require mixed use racks or bays (gasoline & non-gasoline) to send vapors to control even when non-gasoline is being loaded. We are reviewing this proposal from them. Tentatively, our members already all do this, but there are some edge cases like dedicated diesel or jet kerosene loading bays.
• On instrument leak detection and repair (LDAR), we have at least been able to convince EPA that their approach to the GD Rules (XXa) will apply LDAR to too many facilities too quickly, and that the rule is burdensome in how terminal owners determine if it applies to them.  EPA has said they are considering several different ways of improving this, but have yet to make a concrete counterproposal other than the language in their February 2025 guidance page.
• On Kc slotted guidepoles on new/reconstructed EFR tanks, we have submitted information showing that EPA sees no emission benefit from prohibiting the guidepoles, and should have rather required a different set of design-based control requirements on the slotted guidepole when used with a mechanical shoe seal.  This idea is pending EPA review.

The pace of engagement with EPA has been very fast since they began communicating with us under the new Trump administration, with meetings every ~4 weeks and interim touchpoints.  ILTA expects EPA will continue this pace until they feel they have a clear resolution to each of our biggest concerns, and then we will see a rulemaking.

Looming over this progress is the issue of timing. EPA has indicated that its rule-writing team for the GD Rules is now significantly smaller and also tasked with other high-priority items—including the Clean Power Plan, the OOOO series reconsideration, and court-ordered rulemakings like the Subpart Y proposal due in December 2025. They've floated potential timelines for the GD Rules amendments ranging from the end of this year to March 2026. Given these delays, we are urgently evaluating the best path to secure relief from the May 2027 compliance deadline.