2007 Minnesota Statutes

239.791 OXYGENATED GASOLINE.
    Subdivision 1. Minimum ethanol content required. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions
10 to 14, a person responsible for the product shall ensure that all gasoline sold or offered for sale
in Minnesota must contain at least 10.0 percent denatured ethanol by volume.
(b) For purposes of enforcing the minimum ethanol requirement of paragraph (a), a
gasoline/ethanol blend will be construed to be in compliance if the ethanol content, exclusive of
denaturants and permitted contaminants, comprises not less than 9.2 percent by volume and not
more than 10.0 percent by volume of the blend as determined by an appropriate United States
Environmental Protection Agency or American Society of Testing Materials standard method of
analysis of alcohol/ether content in engine fuels.
(c) The provisions of this subdivision are suspended during any period of time that
subdivision 1a, paragraph (a), is in effect.
    Subd. 1a. Minimum ethanol content required. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions 10
to 14, on August 30, 2013, and thereafter, a person responsible for the product shall ensure that
all gasoline sold or offered for sale in Minnesota must contain at least 20 percent denatured
ethanol by volume.
(b) For purposes of enforcing the minimum ethanol requirement of paragraph (a), a
gasoline/ethanol blend will be construed to be in compliance if the ethanol content, exclusive
of denaturants and permitted contaminants, comprises not less than 18.4 percent by volume and
not more than 20 percent by volume of the blend as determined by an appropriate United States
Environmental Protection Agency or American Society of Testing Materials standard method
of analysis of alcohol content in motor fuels.
(c) No motor fuel shall be deemed to be a defective product by virtue of the fact that the
motor fuel is formulated or blended pursuant to the requirements of paragraph (a) under any theory
of liability except for simple or willful negligence or fraud. This paragraph does not preclude an
action for negligent, fraudulent, or willful acts. This paragraph does not affect a person whose
liability arises under chapter 115, water pollution control; 115A, waste management; 115B,
environmental response and liability; 115C, leaking underground storage tanks; or 299J, pipeline
safety; under public nuisance law for damage to the environment or the public health; under any
other environmental or public health law; or under any environmental or public health ordinance
or program of a municipality as defined in section 466.01.
(d) This subdivision expires on December 31, 2010, if by that date:
(1) the commissioner of agriculture certifies and publishes the certification in the State
Register that at least 20 percent of the volume of gasoline sold in the state is denatured ethanol; or
(2) federal approval has not been granted for the use of E20 as gasoline. The United States
Environmental Protection Agency's failure to act on an application shall not be deemed approval
of the use of E20, or a waiver under section 211(f)(4) of the Clean Air Act, United States Code,
title 42, section 7545, subsection (f), paragraph (4).
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1993 c 250 s 3]
    Subd. 3. Blending restriction. When gasoline contains an oxygenate, a person responsible
for the product shall not blend the product with ethanol or with any other oxygenate after it is
transferred or otherwise removed from a refinery or terminal.
    Subd. 4.[Repealed, 1995 c 220 s 141]
    Subd. 5.[Repealed, 1995 c 220 s 141]
    Subd. 6.[Repealed, 1995 c 220 s 141]
    Subd. 7. Ethanol records; state audit. The director shall audit the records of registered
ethanol blenders to ensure that each blender has met all requirements in this chapter. Specific
information or data relating to sales figures or to processes or methods of production unique to
the blender or that would tend to adversely affect the competitive position of the blender must
be only for the confidential use of the director, unless otherwise specifically authorized by the
registered blender.
    Subd. 8. Disclosure. A refinery or terminal, shall provide, at the time gasoline is sold or
transferred from the refinery or terminal, a bill of lading or shipping manifest to the person who
receives the gasoline. For oxygenated gasoline, the bill of lading or shipping manifest must
include the identity and the volume percentage or gallons of oxygenate included in the gasoline,
and it must state: "This fuel contains an oxygenate. Do not blend this fuel with ethanol or with
any other oxygenate." For nonoxygenated gasoline sold or transferred after September 30, 1997,
the bill or manifest must state: "This fuel is not oxygenated. It must not be sold at retail in
Minnesota." This subdivision does not apply to sales or transfers of gasoline between refineries,
between terminals, or between a refinery and a terminal.
    Subd. 9.[Repealed, 1995 c 220 s 141]
    Subd. 10. Exemption for airport, marina, mooring facility, and resort. A person
responsible for the product may offer for sale, sell, or dispense at an airport, marina, mooring
facility, or resort, for use in airplanes or for purposes listed under subdivision 12, paragraph (a),
gasoline that is not oxygenated in accordance with subdivision 1 if the gasoline is unleaded
premium grade as defined in section 239.751, subdivision 4.
    Subd. 11. Exemption for motor sports racing. A person responsible for the product may
offer for sale, sell, or dispense at a public or private racecourse, gasoline that is not oxygenated
in accordance with subdivision 1 if the gasoline is intended to be used exclusively as a fuel
for off-highway motor sports racing events.
    Subd. 12. Exemption for collector vehicle and off-road use. (a) A person responsible for
the product may offer for sale, sell, or dispense at a retail gasoline station for use in collector
vehicles or vehicles eligible to be licensed as collector vehicles, off-road vehicles, motorcycles,
boats, snowmobiles, or small engines, gasoline that is not oxygenated in accordance with
subdivision 1 if the person meets the conditions in paragraphs (b) to (e). If the nonoxygenated
gasoline is for use in a small engine, it must be dispensed into a can with a capacity of six or
fewer gallons.
(b) The nonoxygenated gasoline must be unleaded premium grade as defined in section
239.751, subdivision 4.
(c) No more than one storage tank on the premises of the retail gasoline station may be used
for storage of the nonoxygenated gasoline offered for sale, sold, or dispensed by the station.
(d) The pump stands must be posted with a permanent notice stating: "NONOXYGENATED
GASOLINE. FOR USE IN COLLECTOR VEHICLES OR VEHICLES ELIGIBLE TO BE
LICENSED AS COLLECTOR VEHICLES, OFF-ROAD VEHICLES, MOTORCYCLES,
BOATS, SNOWMOBILES, OR SMALL ENGINES ONLY."
This notice must be posted at least two feet above the ground. A retail gasoline station that sells
nonoxygenated premium gasoline as defined in section 239.791, subdivision 15, must register
every two years with the director, or an entity appointed by the director, on forms approved by the
director, the total amount of nonoxygenated premium gasoline sold annually.
    Subd. 13. Exemption for certain riparian landowners. (a) A person responsible for the
product may offer for sale, sell, and deliver directly to a bulk fuel storage tank gasoline that is not
oxygenated in accordance with subdivision 1 if the conditions in paragraphs (b) to (e) are met.
(b) The nonoxygenated gasoline must be unleaded premium grade as defined in section
239.751, subdivision 4.
(c) The bulk fuel storage tank must be stationary or permanent.
(d) The bulk fuel storage tank must be under the control of an owner of littoral or riparian
property and located on that littoral or riparian property.
(e) The nonoxygenated gasoline must be purchased for use in vehicles that would qualify for
an exemption under subdivision 12, paragraph (a).
    Subd. 14. Exemption for aircraft operator. A person responsible for the product may offer
for sale, sell, and deliver directly to a bulk fuel storage tank gasoline that is not oxygenated in
accordance with subdivision 1 for use in aircraft if the nonoxygenated gasoline is unleaded
premium grade as defined in section 239.751, subdivision 4.
    Subd. 15. Exemption for certain blend pumps. (a) A person responsible for the product,
who offers for sale, sells, or dispenses nonoxygenated premium gasoline under one or more of the
exemptions in subdivisions 10 to 14, may sell, offer for sale, or dispense oxygenated gasoline
that contains less than the minimum amount of ethanol required under subdivision 1 if all of
the following conditions are met:
(1) the blended gasoline has an octane rating of 88 or greater;
(2) the gasoline is a blend of oxygenated gasoline meeting the requirements of subdivision 1
with nonoxygenated premium gasoline;
(3) the blended gasoline contains not more than ten percent nonoxygenated premium
gasoline;
(4) the blending of oxygenated gasoline with nonoxygenated gasoline occurs within the
gasoline dispenser; and
(5) the gasoline station at which the gasoline is sold, offered for sale, or delivered is equipped
to store gasoline in not more than two storage tanks.
(b) This subdivision applies only to those persons who met the conditions in paragraph (a),
clauses (1) through (5), on August 1, 2004, and registered with the director by November 1, 2004.
History: 1992 c 575 s 29; 1993 c 250 s 1; 1993 c 369 s 73,74; 1995 c 220 s 116; 1996 c 354
s 8-11; 1999 c 231 s 174-177; 2000 c 434 s 2; 2003 c 107 s 30; 2004 c 189 s 3,4; 2005 c 10 art 1 s
39; 2005 c 52 s 1,2; 1Sp2005 c 1 art 4 s 69-72