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EPA Reopened the Gasoline Distribution NESHAP. Your First LDAR Survey Is Still Due May 8, 2027.

EPA's September 2026 gasoline distribution NESHAP reconsideration reopened control-device rules and left the May 8, 2027 first LDAR survey date in place.

by iSi Environmental

EPA Reopened the Rule Today and Left Your Survey Date Alone

Your first instrument monitoring survey for equipment leaks at an existing bulk gasoline terminal or bulk plant is due May 8, 2027. EPA published a proposed reconsideration of the 2024 gasoline distribution rules this morning at 91 FR 61175, and that date came through intact. EPA restated it in the compliance-date section and said an extra 180 days for existing NESHAP sources is “not warranted.”

The reconsideration is real and it does change things. EPA reopened thermal oxidizer monitoring, the vapor recovery averaging period, the NSPS subpart XXa modification criteria, cargo tank vapor tightness, and the scope of what counts as equipment in gasoline service. If you were counting on the survey date to move with all that, you have about seven months of usable calendar. Roughly 9,500 facilities sit under these rules, 210 major sources and 9,260 area sources (91 FR 61195), and the bulk plants and pipeline pumping stations among them have run monthly sight, sound, and smell inspections, not an instrument program.

What EPA Did Propose to Relax

Several things did loosen, so start there.

Thermal oxidation systems. Simplified recordkeeping, a revised diameter term in the NHVdil equation for multi-burner units, and a maximum air assist rate set at the performance-test rate. Two operating-limit options are co-proposed: Option 1 revises the performance-test basis, Option 2 sets a fixed minimum mid-stack temperature of 400 degrees Fahrenheit. EPA projects annual area-source compliance cost savings of $713,400 or $565,800 in 2024 dollars depending on which is finalized (91 FR 61178).

Vapor recovery systems. The concentration emission limit averaging period moves from a 3-hour to a 6-hour rolling average, and the CEMS-downtime alternative becomes a site-specific monitoring plan.

Modification criteria under NSPS subpart XXa. A capital expenditure threshold and a definition of “process improvement,” so routine capital work does not turn existing equipment into a modified affected facility. EPA granted reconsideration on this piece February 28, 2025, as a matter of voluntary discretion.

Cargo tank vapor tightness. EPA proposes to return all gasoline distribution rules to the graduated vapor tightness limits of 1.0 to 2.5 inches of water column that subpart R used before 2024, finding the stricter 2024 standards not achievable in practice nationwide (91 FR 61194).

Backup and secondary control devices. EPA proposes narrowing “in gasoline service” so those are monitored only when actively processing gasoline or vapors (91 FR 61185).

What the Reconsideration Leaves Untouched

Every item above sits on the control-device, cargo tank, and modification side of the rule. The equipment-leak survey obligation and its compliance date sit on the other side, and EPA drew that line itself: “The EPA is not reopening any other aspect of the 2024 Final Rule and does not intend to respond to comments addressing any other issues or provisions not specifically addressed in this proposed rulemaking” (91 FR 61175).

On dates: “The EPA is not proposing new emission limits in this proposal. As such, the EPA is not proposing changes to the compliance dates as set by the 2024 Final Rule” (91 FR 61194). EPA projects the package as emissions-neutral, with “no impact on VOC or HAP emissions.” Nothing in a proposal is operative in any case. EPA also proposed a reconsideration of the ethylene oxide sterilizer NESHAP in March, covered in our post on that reconsideration.

When is the first LDAR survey due for an existing bulk gasoline terminal?

May 8, 2027. 40 CFR 63.424(e)(1) and (e)(2) for subpart R and 40 CFR 63.11083(d)(4) for subpart BBBBBB both set that date for the first instrument monitoring survey at existing sources. EPA restated it in today’s proposal: existing subpart R and BBBBBB sources conduct the survey “by the compliance date specified in those rules (i.e., May 8, 2027)” (91 FR 61195).

Section 63.424(e) retires the paragraph (b) walk-around on that date, and 63.11083(d) reaches any area source that commenced construction or reconstruction on or before June 10, 2022.

One trap worth naming. The preamble to the 2024 final rule says May 10, 2027 at 89 FR 39338. The regulatory text EPA promulgated in that same document, the current eCFR, and today’s reconsideration all say May 8, 2027. Work from May 8.

Does EPA’s 2026 gasoline distribution reconsideration move the May 2027 deadline?

No. 91 FR 61194 states EPA “is not proposing changes to the compliance dates as set by the 2024 Final Rule,” and 91 FR 61175 states EPA “is not reopening any other aspect of the 2024 Final Rule.” EPA went further and declined to add 180 days for cross-referenced NESHAP sources, calling the extra time “not warranted” (91 FR 61184). Plan for May 8, 2027.

EPA put its reasoning on the record: “the NESHAP rules provide existing sources up to three years to comply with the cross-referenced provisions. As such, an additional 180 days … is not warranted.” What EPA granted in February 2025 was reconsideration of the subpart XXa modification criteria, not the dates.

Does subpart BBBBBB apply to my bulk gasoline plant?

Yes, if you load gasoline into cargo tanks below 20,000 gallons per day. 40 CFR 63.11081(a)(4) names bulk gasoline plants as affected area sources, and 63.11081(g) makes the 20,000 gallon per day figure a maximum calculated design throughput for any day, not an average. Section 63.11083(d)(4) then applies the 63.11089(c) instrument monitoring requirement to bulk plants on May 8, 2027.

Since 2008 a bulk plant has met its equipment leak obligation with a monthly walk-around using sight, sound, and smell, logged under 63.11089(b). That paragraph stops applying on May 8, 2027, and an annual Method 21 or optical gas imaging survey takes its place, with the same inventory, tagging, repair clock, and CEDRI reporting a major terminal carries.

Two provisions matter near the line: under 63.11081(f) a source that ever exceeds a threshold stays above-threshold even if throughput falls back, and under 63.11081(g) an enforceable permit limit may substitute for the design-capacity figure only if established prior to the applicable compliance date.

How often must I conduct the LDAR survey, annually or semiannually?

Semiannually at major sources, annually at area sources. 40 CFR 63.424(c)(1) through (c)(3) sets semiannual optical gas imaging, semiannual Method 21 on pumps and valves, and semiannual pressure relief device monitoring for subpart R. 40 CFR 63.11089(c)(1) through (c)(3) sets the same three annually for subpart BBBBBB. Both cross-reference the mechanics in 40 CFR 60.502a(j) and override the quarterly baseline by frequency only.

Pressure relief devices run on a second clock, within 5 calendar days after each release. Under 63.11089(c)(4), bulk plants and pipeline pumping stations whose devices are monitored only by non-plant personnel get 30 calendar days.

What instrument and method does the gasoline distribution LDAR survey require?

EPA Method 21 (40 CFR part 60, appendix A-7) or optical gas imaging, your choice. 40 CFR 60.502a(j)(1)(i) routes optical gas imaging through 40 CFR 60.503a(e)(2), and (j)(1)(ii) routes Method 21 through 60.503a(e)(1). Under Method 21, an instrument reading of 10,000 ppm or greater on a pump, valve, or connector is a leak. Under optical gas imaging, observed emissions are a leak.

Under Method 21, connectors are monitored annually under 60.502a(j)(1)(ii)(C). Under optical gas imaging, they ride the same frequency as pumps and valves. Schedule surveys while cargo tanks are loading: EPA proposes to state in the rule that inspections happen “when actively loading gasoline into a gasoline cargo tank” (91 FR 61184), because vapor collection systems and control devices must be processing gasoline vapors for Method 21 or a camera to detect their leaks. Field procedure and calibration are in our LDAR program reference.

What ppm reading counts as a leak under subparts R and BBBBBB?

10,000 ppm for the periodic survey, 500 ppmv for the pre-performance-test screening. The periodic threshold sits at 40 CFR 60.502a(j)(1)(ii)(A) through (C). The separate “no detectable emissions” screening of the vapor collection system before a performance test uses 500 ppmv above background under 40 CFR 60.503a(a)(2), which EPA discusses at 91 FR 61184 and 61185. Two numbers, two purposes.

AFPM and API asked EPA to clarify that a 500 ppmv screening result is not by itself a violation of the equipment leak standards. EPA proposes to say plainly that it is not, so long as the leak is repaired before the test. Failing to repair before testing still violates 60.503a(a)(2). If your technician carries the HON leak-definition table from other work, those numbers do not travel here.

How fast must I repair a leak found during the survey?

First attempt within 5 calendar days, final repair within 15. 40 CFR 60.502a(j)(7)(ii) and (iii). The component gets a weatherproof tag with its equipment identification number. A leak found by instrument is closed only when re-monitoring detects no leak, not when it looks fixed.

Delay of repair under 60.502a(j)(8) runs on defined grounds: equipment isolated and out of gasoline service; valves and connectors where purge emissions from immediate repair would exceed the fugitives from delay, with the purged material collected and controlled; a valve awaiting an assembly replacement, no later than 3 months after detection; and a pump whose repair requires a dual mechanical seal system with barrier fluid, no later than 6 months after detection. Every delay goes in the semiannual report with its reason and completion date.

What is the penalty for missing the May 2027 LDAR survey deadline?

Up to $59,114 per day with a $472,901 cap administratively, or $124,426 per day judicially. Those are 2025 levels carried into 2026. 40 CFR 19.4 Table 1 lists both figures for 42 U.S.C. 7413(d)(1) and 7413(b), set by the January 8, 2025 adjustment at 90 FR 1375. OMB memorandum M-26-11, issued April 17, 2026, cancelled the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment government-wide, which is why the January 2025 table is still operative.

Historical enforcement here looks mild. EPA ECHO data for NAICS 424710 shows 226 Clean Air Act cases settled from 2021 through September 2026 carrying $5,149,955 in federal penalties, only 22 of them coded to section 111 or section 112, and 17 of those 22 to the section 112(r) accident prevention program. Read the structure instead of the trend. Today the compliance record is a signed monthly logbook, and an inspector has almost nothing in it to test. After May 8, 2027 it is a component inventory, dated readings, calibration records, leak tags, 5-day and 15-day dates, re-monitoring closures, and CEDRI submittals.

Does a new or modified terminal get 180 days for its first survey?

Only under NSPS subpart XXa, and only as a proposal. 91 FR 61183 proposes revising 40 CFR 60.502a(j)(1) so that a subpart XXa affected facility conducts its first survey within 180 calendar days of becoming subject. EPA expressly declined to extend that window to existing NESHAP sources that reach 60.502a(j) by cross-reference. Those sources survey by the cross-referencing subpart’s own date, May 8, 2027.

Subpart XXa reaches terminals constructed, modified, or reconstructed after June 10, 2022. The proposed modification criteria matter here, because the capital expenditure threshold decides whether a project pulls an existing terminal into subpart XXa at all.

How do I know whether subpart R, BBBBBB, or CCCCCC applies to my facility?

Facility type first, then major-source status. On and after May 8, 2027, 40 CFR 63.420(a) and (b) limits subpart R to bulk gasoline terminals and pipeline breakout stations located at a major source, meaning 10 tons per year of any single HAP or 25 tons per year combined under 40 CFR 63.2. Everything else in the category falls to subpart BBBBBB under 63.11081(a)(1) through (a)(4). Gasoline dispensing facilities belong to subpart CCCCCC, tiered at 10,000 and 100,000 gallons per month under 63.11111.

The test itself changes that day, which is the part trade coverage skips. Before May 8, 2027 subpart R applicability turns on a calculated emissions index with exemptions below 1.0 and below 0.50. After, it is a straight major-source determination. The definitions move too: cargo tank receipt starts counting toward subpart R terminal status (63.421), and both subparts define pipeline breakout stations as having no loading racks (63.421 and 63.11100). A facility can change subparts and frequency without changing anything on the ground.

Which equipment is exempt from the gasoline distribution LDAR survey?

Equipment out of gasoline service, plus the NSPS subpart VVa component exemptions carried in by reference. 40 CFR 60.502a(j)(1)(ii)(A) through (C) excepts components meeting 60.482-1a(d), 60.482-2a(d) through (g), 60.482-7a(f) through (h), and 60.482-11a(e) and (f). Subpart BBBBBB also excludes aviation gasoline at airports under 63.11081(d) and marine tank vessel loading under 63.11081(e). Equipment in vacuum service falls out too.

Build to the current definition of equipment in gasoline service, which is wide: 60.502a(j) reaches the vapor collection system, the vapor processing system, and each loading rack and arm handling gasoline.

Do Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, or Colorado impose LDAR requirements beyond the federal rule?

Texas and Colorado do. Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Nebraska largely implement the federal rule as delegated. TCEQ’s 30 TAC Chapter 115, Subchapter C, Division 1 sets control, inspection, testing, and monitoring requirements for loading and unloading in nine named areas plus 72 covered attainment counties, and Subchapter D governs fugitive VOC emissions. Colorado AQCC Regulation Number 7, 5 CCR 1001-9 adds an 80 milligram per liter VOC loading limit and annual EPA Method 27 cargo tank testing. Federal NESHAP applies on top of both.

Colorado also measures throughput differently. Reg. 7 Part B Section IV.C.2 defines a terminal on a rolling 30-day average, while 40 CFR 63.11081(g) uses maximum calculated design throughput for any day and says expressly that it is not an average.

Oklahoma has a wrinkle worth knowing. EPA delegated subparts R, BBBBBB, and CCCCCC to Oklahoma DEQ effective February 2, 2026, but only as they existed through June 30, 2023 (91 FR 52). The 2024 amendments postdate that cutoff, so EPA Region 6 keeps the new provisions until delegation catches up.

Do not quote a section-level number out of Chapter 115 without pulling the current Division 1 text from TCEQ first. EPA’s March 23, 2026 RACT approvals for Houston-Galveston-Brazoria and Dallas-Fort Worth lock the state requirements in alongside the federal ones. In Missouri, EPA approved revisions to the St. Louis area loading and transfer rule, 10 CSR 10-5.220, on July 23, 2026 (91 FR 46294, proposed at 91 FR 21751). The federal NESHAP applies on top of that state rule, as it does in Texas and Colorado. More in our St. Louis and Kansas City vapor recovery post.

Where the Petition and the Litigation Stand

Plan for May 8, 2027 and watch the docket. Both halves are true, and the second does not soften the first.

ILTA filed two petitions for reconsideration of the 2024 rule in mid-2024, and AFPM and API filed jointly. ILTA also petitioned for judicial review in the D.C. Circuit, No. 24-1234. ILTA has publicly described the challenge as held in abeyance indefinitely, which is industry’s account of the docket, not a court order. An abeyance pauses briefing. It does not stay a rule, and no court has stayed May 8, 2027.

ILTA also asked for a Presidential Clean Air Act section 112 exemption for this category. Proclamations granting that relief have published for other NESHAP categories since April 2025, most recently at 91 FR 44719. None covers gasoline distribution or bulk gasoline terminals. EPA noted the industry request for a compliance date extension without granting it and solicited comment on the compliance dates (C-20, 91 FR 61195).

Two Comment Deadlines, and Only One Is the Rulemaking Docket

Comments on the reconsideration are due November 12, 2026, to Docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0302 on Regulations.gov. The earlier October 28, 2026 date applies only to Paperwork Reduction Act comments on the information collection burden, filed with OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Do not send a technical comment to OIRA in October and assume it reached the rulemaking docket.

Worth answering: C-2 and C-3 on first-survey timing, C-6 on the pre-performance-test screening, and C-20 on the compliance dates. C-20 is where a date argument belongs. RIN 2060-AW66 has been on EPA’s agenda all year, tracked in our rundown of the 2026 Unified Agenda.

What Has to Exist Before the First Survey

  1. Your subpart, confirmed in writing against the post-May-2027 text: facility type, then the major-source HAP determination under 63.420(a) and (b), then the 20,000 gallon per day design-throughput test.
  2. A component inventory kept as a record, not a spreadsheet nobody owns. Section 60.502a(j) wants a list, summary description, or diagrams locating all equipment in gasoline service. Longest-lead item in the program.
  3. A CEDRI account and the report template. Semiannual reports move to the electronic template on May 8, 2027 or one year after the subpart’s template posts to CEDRI, whichever is later (63.11095(e) and 63.428(n)), and a Notification of Compliance Status is due by the compliance date over a responsible official’s signature (63.11086(f)).
  4. A separate budget line for the 2034 tank work. External floating roof fitting controls under 63.11083(e) and 63.423(b)(3) and (c) are due at the next emptying and degassing or May 8, 2034.

Standing one up from nothing takes longer than the calendar suggests, a sequence we walked for a different source category in our post on the area-source chemical manufacturing LDAR rule.

Getting the Program Built

With 9,260 area sources on one date, the contractor bench gets thin in early 2027. iSi’s environmental compliance work covers what has to exist first: the applicability determination, the component inventory and tagging, instrument or camera selection, the survey and recordkeeping procedure, CEDRI setup, and the Notification of Compliance Status.

If you run a terminal or bulk plant and you do not yet have a component list, talk to us. We will tell you what the next sixty days need to produce.

Sources

Federal Register, EPA proposed rules and notices

Federal Register, civil penalty adjustments

eCFR, codified regulations

EPA, agency pages, dockets and enforcement data

State agencies, rule text and program pages

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