Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 4, § 4206 - Labeling Requirements for Natural Gas
(a) Notwithstanding any other labels required
by California law, the following labels shall be displayed in a conspicuous,
legible, and indelibly marked manner on each customer-facing side of the
dispenser:
(1) The natural gas fuel rating
label meeting the retail sale requirements of the Federal Trade Commission in
accordance with:
(A) 16 CFR Part 309 "Labeling
Requirements for Alternative Fuels and Alternative Fueled Vehicles," for
Compressed Natural Gas and Compressed Natural Gas -- Hydrogen Blend;
or
(B) 16 CFR Part 306 "Automotive
Fuel Ratings, Certification and Posting," for Liquefied Natural Gas.
(2) In accordance with Business
and Professions Code Section 13480, and meeting size and height requirements
therein, the product name label shall be either:
(A) "Compressed Natural Gas" or "CNG" for
Compressed Natural Gas; or
(B)
"Liquified Natural Gas" or "LNG" for Liquified Natural Gas; or
(C) "Compressed Natural Gas -- Hydrogen
Blend" or "CNG -- Hydrogen Blend" for Compressed Natural Gas -- Hydrogen
Blend.
(3) In accordance
with Business and Professions Code Section 13480, and meeting size and height
requirements therein, the fuel grade designation label shall be either:
(A) the calculated methane number
(MNC) as "MNC 65" or
"MNC 75" which corresponds with the applicable fuel
grades described and determined by ASTM International Standard Specification
D8080 for Compressed Natural Gas and Liquefied Natural Gas; or
(B) the calculated methane number
(MNC) and hydrogen (H) limit as
"MNC 65 H10" or "MNC 75 H10"
which corresponds with the applicable fuel grades described and determined by
ASTM International Standard Specification D8487 for Compressed Natural Gas --
Hydrogen Blend.
(4) The
equivalent conversion factor statement label printed in Helvetica Black or
Arial Bold font type with a cap height of no less than one-quarter inch shall
read either:
(A) "1 Gasoline Gallon Equivalent
(GGE) equals 5.66 lb of Compressed Natural Gas" for Compressed Natural Gas and
Compressed Natural Gas -- Hydrogen Blend; or
(B) "1 Diesel Gallon Equivalent (DGE) equals
6.06 lb of Liquefied Natural Gas" for Liquefied Natural Gas.
Notes
Note: Authority cited: Sections 12027, 13400(b)(12), 13440, 13446 and 13480, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 13400, 13404, 13440, 13446, 13480 and 13484, Business and Professions Code.
Note: Authority cited: Sections 12027 and 13480, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 13400, 13404, 13440, 13451, 13470, 13471, 13473, 13474, 13480, 13484, 13531, 13532 and 13536, Business and Professions Code.
2. Amendment of section heading, section and NOTE filed 5-22-2025; operative
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
(a) Definitions Used in This Section:
(1) "Consumer" means, with respect to any item, the first person who purchases such item for purposes other than resale.
(2) "Fuel dispenser" means the dispenser through which a retailer sells the fuel to a consumer.
(3) "Methane Number" means the antiknock index of compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas motor vehicle fuel. The Methane Number of compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas is a calculated value determined by the chemical composition of the fuel, including inert components.
(4) "MWM Method" means the algorithm for the calculation of the Methane Number of a natural gas fuel from its composition. The MWM Method algorithm is available in the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) standard EN 16726 "Gas infrastructure -- Quality of gas -- Group H" (EN16726), Annex A, pages 9 through 30, published December 2015, which is herein incorporated by reference.
A spreadsheet calculator implementing the MWM Method algorithm and a pdf file of instructions for its use ("readme.pdf") are available for download at no cost at: http://euromot.org/media_and_events/publications/mn.
(5) "Minimum MWM Methane Number" means the lowest MWM Methane Number of natural gas fuel offered for retail sale.
(6) "Producer" means any person who purchases component elements and combines them to produce and market natural gas motor vehicle fuels.
(7) "Retailer" means any person who markets natural gas motor vehicle fuels to the general public for ultimate consumption.
(b) The name of the product and grade designation, if any, shall be conspicuously displayed on each customer side of all natural gas fuel dispensers. For all natural gas fuels, the name of the product and grade designation, if any, shall also appear on all advertising signs and storage tank labels as required in Sections 13480 and 13532 of the Business and Professions Code.
(c)
(1) A person shall not sell at retail to the general public any compressed or liquefied natural gas for use as a motor vehicle fuel from any place of business in this state unless there is displayed and labeled on the fuel dispenser in a conspicuous place on the customer side the following statement: "MINIMUM METHANE NUMBER XX BY THE MWM METHOD (4 CCR 4206)," where XX is the MWM Methane Number of the dispensed natural gas fuel expressed in a number rounded down to a whole number. This statement shall be displayed in Helvetica Black or equivalent font type with characters not less than 1/2 inch in height.
(2) Natural gas motor vehicle fuel producers shall be responsible for determining the minimum MWM Methane Number to be displayed for the fuel they produce for retail sale to the general public. In making this determination, they may rely on information received from the utility supplying the pipeline gas used to produce their fuel, independent laboratory testing of the composition of the pipeline gas, or any other reliable information available to them. The minimum MWM Methane Number shall be accurate at all times.
(d)
(1) A person shall not sell at retail to the general public any compressed natural gas for use as a motor vehicle fuel from any place of business in this state unless there is displayed and labeled on the fuel dispenser in a conspicuous place on each customer side the following statement: "1 Gasoline Gallon Equivalent (GGE) equals 5.66 lb of Compressed Natural Gas".
(2) The statement "1 Gasoline Gallon Equivalent (GGE) equals 5.66 lbs. of Compressed Natural Gas" shall be in characters of Helvetica Black or equivalent font type, no less than 3/4 inch in height and on a contrasting background. All lines or marks used in the making or forming of all the characters which are a part of the label shall be at least one-eighth of an inch in width.
(e)
(1) A person shall not sell at retail to the general public any liquefied natural gas for use as a motor vehicle fuel from any place of business in this state unless there is displayed and labeled on the fuel dispenser in a conspicuous place on each customer side the following statement: "1 Diesel Gallon Equivalent (DGE) equals 6.06 lb of Liquefied Natural Gas".
(2) The statement "1 Diesel Gallon Equivalent (DGE) equals 6.06 lbs. of Liquefied Natural Gas" shall be in characters of Helvetica Black or equivalent font type, no less than 3/4 inch in height and on a contrasting background. All lines or marks used in the making or forming of all the characters that are a part of the label shall be at least one-eighth of an inch in width.
Notes
Note: Authority cited: Sections 12027 and 13480, Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections 13400, 13404, 13440, 13451, 13470, 13471, 13473, 13474, 13480, 13484, 13531, 13532 and 13536, Business and Professions Code.