(m) 40 CFR means Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, revised as of July 1, 2016, published by the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. A copy of 40 CFR is maintained in a file at the Department of Agriculture and Markets, Bureau of Weights and Measures, 10B Airline Drive, Albany, New York 12235, and the Department of State, 99 Washington Avenue, Suite 650, Albany, New York 12231, and is available for public inspection and copying during regular business hours.

The portion of subdivision (a) of section 224.3 of 1 NYCRR immediately preceding the provisions of paragraph (1) thereof is amended to read as follows:

(a) Automotive gasoline. All automotive gasoline shall meet the requirement in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, specification number [D 4814-12] D 4814-15a, except as noted below.

Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of section 224.3 of 1 NYCRR is amended to read as follows:

(i) The total [alcohol] ethanol content of any [gasoline-alcohol] gasoline-ethanol blend shall not exceed [10] 15 percent by volume.

Paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of section 224.9 is amended to read as follows:

(1) If you are a retailer, you must post the octane rating of [all] automotive gasoline, except gasoline-ethanol blends containing more than 10 percent and not more than 15 percent ethanol by volume, you sell to consumers. You must do this by putting at least one label on each face of each gasoline dispenser through which you sell gasoline. If you are selling two or more kinds of gasoline with different octane ratings from a single dispenser, you must put separate labels for each kind of gasoline on each face of the dispenser.

Section 224.11 of 1 NYCRR is amended by adding thereto a new subdivision (h), to read as follows:

The proposed rule will amend 1 NYCRR Part 224 to allow for the sale and distribution of gasoline-ethanol fuel blends that contain up to fifteen percent alcohol, in contrast to the presently existing requirement that allows for such fuel to contain only up to ten percent alcohol, and will, also, require gasoline-ethanol blends to comply with certain labeling requirements set forth in federal regulation. Furthermore, the proposed rule will require automotive gasoline to meet updated requirements published by ASTM International, an organization comprised of producers and users of industrial commodities, as well as of government regulators, consumers, and academicians that, inter alia, publishes standards for industrial commodities.

As the proposed rule provides greater flexibility in gasoline-ethanol fuel blends and requires compliance applicable federal regulation already applicable for interstate commerce and the updated ASTM industry standards, it is believed that no one will object to the proposed amendments.

Based upon the foregoing, it is anticipated that the proposed rule meets the definition of a consensus rule as set forth in SAPA section 102(11).

The proposed rule will not have an adverse impact upon employment opportunities.

The proposed rule will amend 1 NYCRR Part 224 to allow gasoline-ethanol blends to contain up to fifteen percent ethanol, an increase from the current regulations that permit gasoline-ethanol blends to contain up to ten percent ethanol. As the proposed rule is permissive and adds no additional requirements on industry participants than found in the current regulations, employment opportunities in businesses that handle automotive fuel, and particularly gasoline-ethanol blends, should not be affected by the proposed rule.

Furthermore, the proposed rule may have a positive indirect impact upon employment opportunities. Currently, there are at least two manufacturing plants in the State that manufacture ethanol from, at least in part, plant matter grown or harvested in the State. To the extent that gasoline-ethanol blends “use” more ethanol in such blends, and use more than is currently used, employment opportunities on farms and in ethanol manufacturing plants in the State that presently exist or that may be built could very well increase.