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Chapter 16.60 Motor Vehicle Fuels

City Code Chapter

16.60.010 Definitions.

  1. As used in this Chapter, the following terms are defined as provided in this section:
  2. A.  Biodiesel means a renewable alternative to diesel fuel that consists of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from plant or animal matter that meets the registration requirements for fuels and fuel additives established by the Environmental Protection Agency and standards established by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM).
  3. B.  Biofuel means any fuel that is derived from plant or animal matter that meets the registration requirements for fuels and fuel additives established by the Environmental Protection Agency and standards established by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) as determined by the City Administrator under Subsection 16.60.020 C. For the purposes of this Chapter, Biofuel includes Biodiesel, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.
  4. C.  Blendstock means any unfinished biofuel that is used for the purpose of blending with petroleum-based diesel fuel to make a final refined product. For example, a final product of B20 is made from a blend of 80 percent petroleum-based diesel fuel and 20 percent B100 blendstock.
  5. D.  Carbon intensity means the amount of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy of fuel expressed in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule (gCO2e/MJ), as determined by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Clean Fuels Program.
  6. E.  City means the City of Portland.
  7. F.  Diesel means petroleum-based liquid that is suitable for use as a fuel in diesel powered motor vehicles.
  8. G.  Director means the Director of the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability or the Director’s authorized representative, designee or agent.
  9. H.  E10 means a fuel mixture of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline.
  10. I.  Ethanol means ethyl alcohol, a flammable liquid used or sold for the purpose of blending or mixing with gasoline.
  11. J.  Feedstock means the plant or animal matter from which a biofuel is derived.
  12. K.  Fuel means all gasoline or diesel sold within the City for the purpose of operating motor vehicles on public roadways.
  13. L.  Fuel distributor means a person that causes the transportation or storage of fuel at any point between a refinery or importer’s facility and any retail outlet or wholesale purchaser-consumer within the City.
  14. M.  Gasoline means any petroleum-based fuel sold for use in spark ignition engines.
  15. N.  Motor vehicle means every inanimate vehicle that is self-propelled.  For the purposes of this Chapter, the definition of motor vehicle does not include aircraft, watercraft, or locomotives.
  16. O.  Nonretail dealer means any person who owns, operates, controls or supervises an establishment at which motor vehicles fuel is dispensed through a car or key-activated fuel dispensing device to nonretail customers.
  17. P.  Product transfer document (PTD) means a document, or combination of documents, that authenticates the transfer of fuel ownership between parties and must include all information as required under administrative rules developed by the City Administrator. A PTD may include bills of lading, invoices, contracts, meter tickets, rail inventory sheets or RFS product transfer documents.
  18. Q.  Renewable diesel means a renewable alternative to diesel fuel that is produced through various thermochemical processes such as hydrotreating, gasification, and pyrolysis and is derived from plant or animal matter. Renewable diesel is chemically the same as petroleum diesel fuel. Renewable diesel meets the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specification ASTM D975 for petroleum diesel may be used in existing petroleum pipelines, storage tanks, and diesel engines.
  19. R.  Reseller means a person who purchases fuel and resells or transfers it to a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer within the City.
  20. S.  Retail outlet means any establishment within the City at which fuel is sold or offered for sale to the ultimate consumer for use in motor vehicles.
  21. T.  Retailer means any person who owns, leases, operates, controls or supervises a retail outlet within the City.
  22. U.  Wholesale purchaser-consumer means any organization within the City that is an ultimate consumer of fuel and that purchases or obtains diesel or gasoline from a fuel distributor or reseller for use in motor vehicles and receives delivery of that product into a storage tank or directly into a vehicle’s tank.

16.60.015 Authority of the City Administrator.

  1. A.  The City Administrator is authorized to administer and enforce the provisions of this Chapter.
  2. B.  The City Administrator may, upon request, issue written interpretations of how this Chapter applies in general or to specific circumstances.
  3. C.  The City Administrator is authorized to adopt, amend and repeal rules, procedures and forms to implement the provisions of this Chapter.

16.60.020 Minimum Biofuel Content Requirements.

  1. A.  Biodiesel and renewable diesel.
    1. 1.  On and after May 15, 2024, all diesel fuel sold by fuel distributors or resellers to fuel retailers, nonretail dealers or wholesale purchaser-consumers within the City must contain a minimum blend of 15 percent biodiesel or renewable diesel.
    2. 2.  On and after July 1, 2024, all diesel fuel sold by fuel retailers, dispensed by nonretail dealers, or purchased by wholesale purchaser-consumers within the City must contain a minimum blend of 15 percent biodiesel or renewable diesel.
    3. 3.  On and after May 15, 2026, all diesel fuel sold by fuel distributors or resellers to fuel retailers, nonretail dealers, or wholesale purchaser-consumers within the City must contain a minimum blend of 50 percent biodiesel or renewable diesel.
    4. 4.  On and after July 1, 2026, all diesel fuel sold by fuel retailers, dispensed by nonretailer dealers, or purchased by wholesale purchaser-consumers within the City must contain a minimum blend of 50 percent biodiesel or renewable diesel.
    5. 5.  On and after May 15, 2030, all diesel fuel sold by fuel distributors or resellers to fuel retailers, nonretail dealers, or wholesale purchaser-consumers within the City must contain a minimum blend of 99 percent biodiesel or renewable diesel.
    6. 6.  On and after July 1, 2030, all diesel fuel sold by fuel retailers, dispensed by nonretailer dealers, or purchased by wholesale purchaser-consumers within the City must contain a minimum blend of 99 percent biodiesel or renewable diesel.
  2. B.  Ethanol.
    1. 1.  On and after September 16, 2007, all gasoline sold by fuel distributors or resellers to fuel retailers, nonretail dealers or wholesale purchaser-consumers within City must contain a minimum blend of 10 percent ethanol (E10 fuel).  This requirement will remain in effect on a year-round basis.
    2. 2.  On and after November 1, 2007, all gasoline sold by fuel retailers, dispensed by nonretailer dealers or purchased by wholesale purchaser-consumers within City must contain a minimum blend of 10 percent ethanol (E10 fuel).  This requirement will remain in effect on a year-round basis.
  3. C.  The City Administrator will establish, and revise as necessary, standards for biofuels sold in the City. The City Administrator will consult specifications established for biofuels by the American Society for Testing and Materials, the Oregon Department of Agriculture or similar specifications, in forming its standards.
  4. D.  Biodiesel produced from a feedstock of virgin or recycled palm oil may not be used to satisfy the requirements of this Chapter.
  5. E.  Biodiesel used to satisfy the requirements of this Chapter must not exceed 20 percent in any final diesel fuel blends. The foregoing does not limit voluntary sales of higher blends of biodiesel, as long as those blends are properly labeled in accordance with state or federal guidelines.
  6. F.  The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability must study and monitor biodiesel and renewable diesel production, use, and sales in Oregon and in the City through 2030.
  7. G.  Fuel retailers are required to conspicuously place signage denoting the type of biofuel mixture available for sale by the fuel retailer in accordance with the labeling guidelines or rules established by the Oregon Department of Agriculture or by the administrative rules adopted by the City Administrator.

16.60.025 Biofuel Carbon Intensity Requirements.

  1. A.  All biodiesel and renewable diesel sold in the City to satisfy the requirements of this Chapter must have a carbon intensity equal to or less than 40 gCO2e/MJ as certified by DEQ’s Clean Fuels Program, Approved Carbon Intensity Values.
  2. B.  Carbon intensity requirements apply to biofuel blendstock, not the final blended products, which may contain a portion of petroleum-based diesel fuel at a higher carbon intensity.
  3. C.  The City Administrator may establish and revise as necessary standards for carbon intensity of biofuels sold in the City and rules for enforcement and reporting procedures.

16.60.030 Exemptions.

  1. A.  The requirements of Subsections 16.60.020 A.1. through 4. do not apply to any retailer offering a renewable diesel blend of 99 percent (R99 fuel) if such retailer, as of January 1, 2023, has: (1) a minimum of 120,000 gallons of onsite storage; and (2) a minimum of nine truck fueling lanes. Such retailer may also offer, on the same site or a contiguous site, diesel fuel that does not contain biofuels. This exemption expires on July 1, 2030.
  2. B.  The requirements of this Chapter do not apply to fuel used for the operation of railroad locomotives, watercraft, aircraft, or emergency equipment.
  3. C.  The requirements of this Chapter do not apply to any fuel used for vehicle test operations. For the purposes of product validation engineering, any reasonable market fuel required for validation may be procured at the sole discretion of the vehicle test operators, including any mix of ultra-low sulfur diesel, biodiesel, renewable diesel, or ethanol required for testing and in compliance with state and federal law.
  4. D.  The minimum biofuel content requirements in Subsections 16.60.020 A.1. and 2. do not apply to Portland-based vehicle manufacturing operations. On and after July 15, 2030, all Portland-based vehicle manufacturing operations must meet the requirements of this Chapter.
  5. E.  Nothing in this Chapter is intended to prohibit the production, sale, or use of motor fuel for use in federally designated flexibly fueled vehicles capable of using up to 85 percent ethanol fuel blends.

16.60.040 Enforcement and Notice of Violation.

  1. A.  The City Administrator, upon determining that a violation of this Chapter or associated administrative rules has occurred, will issue a written notice of the violation by certified mail to the fuel distributor, reseller or retailer. The notice will identify the violation and applicable penalty.
  2. B.  The fuel distributor, reseller or retailer must, upon receipt of a notice of violation, correct the violation and pay to the City the stated penalty or appeal the finding of a violation to the Code Hearings Officer within 10 days of receipt of the notice.
  3. C.  A determination issued pursuant to Subsection 16.60.040 A. may be appealed to the Code Hearings Officer, as provided for in Chapter 22.10 of Portland City Code.

16.60.050 Penalties.

  1. Violations of this Chapter may be punishable as follows:
  2. A.  A fine of up to $10,000 for the first violation;
  3. B.  A fine of up to $15,000 for each subsequent violation.

16.60.060 Disclosure.

  1. A.  For all sales of biofuels blended products by fuel distributors or resellers for the purposes of meeting this Chapter, the distributor or reseller must provide a bill of lading or product transfer document disclosing biofuel content, stating volume percentage, gallons of biofuel per gallon finished fuel, or an “Bxx”, "Rxx", or “Exx” designation where “xx” denotes the volume percent biofuel included in the blended product, and the feedstock from which the biofuel was derived.
  2. B.  Fuel retailers and nonretailer dealers dispensing fuel must maintain records for all biofuels sold in the City. Those records will be made available to the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability for the purposes of enforcement and reporting, as determined through rules adopted by the City Administrator.

Upcoming and Recent Changes

Ordinance Number 191100

Effective Date
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