AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

AIR POLLUTION REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1985

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

No. 27 of 1985

	The Air Pollution Regulations (Amendment) 1985 (“the amending Regulations”) forms part of a package of legislation, also including the Air Pollution (Amendment) Ordinance 1985 and the Motor Traffic (Amendment) Ordinance (No.8) 1985, which facilitates the introduction of unleaded petrol into the Territory.

	The Motor Traffic (Amendment) Ordinance (No. 8) 1985 requires motor vehicles manufactured on or after a specified date to be capable of running on unleaded petrol and to be fitted with catalytic type emission control devices.  These devices are rendered ineffectual by the prolonged use of leaded petrol.

	The Air Pollution (Amendment) Ordinance 1985 prohibits the sale of leaded petrol as unleaded petrol and the sale of any petrol additive which may alter the concentration of lead, sulphur or phosphorus in unleaded petrol.  It is also an offence to fuel a car designed to operate on unleaded petrol with leaded petrol.

	The amending Regulations provide:

•	methods for the ascertainment of the lead, sulphur, and phosphorus content of petrol and for the calculation of the motor and research octane numbers of petrol for the purposes of the Air Pollution Ordinance; and
•	that petrol bowsers used to dispense leaded petrol must have minimum nozzle diameters and labelled “contains lead” and petrol bowsers used to dispense unleaded petrol must have maximum nozzle diameters and labelled “unleaded”.

	Details of the amending regulations are set out in attachment A.
ATTACHMENT A

Details of Air Pollution Regulations (Amendment)

	Regulation 1 provides a consequential amendment to regulation 13 of the Air Pollution Regulations (“the principal Regulations”) by substituting the reference in that regulation to “the Schedule” with a reference “Schedule 1”.

	Regulation 2 inserts into the principal Regulations new regulations 22 and 23.

	New regulation 22 provides that the lead content of petrol shall be ascertained in accordance with Schedule 2 of the Regulations.  The phosphorus and sulphur contents of petrol shall be ascertained in accordance with American Standards ASTM D-3231-83 ASTM D-2622-82 respectively.  The motor octane number and research octane number of petrol is to be determined in accordance with American Standards ASTM D-2700-84 and ASTM D-2699-84 respectively.

	New Regulation 23 prescribes that petrol bowsers which are used to dispense unleaded petrol shall be fitted with a nozzle of not more than 21.34 millimeters external diameter and shall be labelled “unleaded”.  Petrol bowsers which are used to dispense leaded petrol shall be fitted with a nozzle of not less than 23.6 millimeters external diameter and shall be labelled “contains lead”.  Section 42C of the Air Pollution Ordinance provides that it is an offence not to have petrol bowsers constructed or marked in this manner.  A maximum penalty of $2,000 applies.

	Regulation 3 inserts at the end of the principal Regulations a new Schedule 2 setting out the method for ascertaining the lead content of petrol.  A consequential amendment changing the name of the existing Schedule from “the Schedule” to “Schedule 1” is also provided.