a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
1. "Distributor" shall mean any person who transports or stores or causes the transportation or storage of gasoline at any point between any plant at which gasoline is produced and any retail outlet or facility of a wholesale purchaser-consumer.
2. "Gasoline" shall mean any fuel sold for use in motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines, and commonly or commercially known or sold as gasoline.
3. "Lead additive" shall mean any substance containing lead or lead compounds.
4. "Leaded gasoline" shall mean gasoline which is produced with the use of any lead additive or which contains more than five one hundredths of a gram of lead per gallon or more than five one thousandths of a gram of phosphorus per gallon.
5. "Refiner" shall mean any person who owns, leases, operates, controls or supervises a plant at which gasoline is produced.
6. "Reseller" shall mean any person who purchases gasoline identified by the corporate, trade or brand name of a refiner from such refiner or a distributor and resells or transfers it to retailers or wholesale purchaser-consumers displaying the refiner's brand, and whose assets or facilities are not substantially owned, leased or controlled by such refiner.
7. "Retail outlet" shall mean any establishment at which gasoline is sold or offered for sale for use in motor vehicles.
8. "Retailer" shall mean any person who owns, leases, operates, controls, or supervises a retail outlet.
9. "Unleaded gasoline" shall mean gasoline which is produced without the use of any lead additive and which contains not more than five one hundredths of a gram of lead per gallon and not more than five one thousandths of a gram of phosphorus per gallon.
10. "Wholesale purchaser-consumer" shall mean any organization that is an ultimate consumer of gasoline and which purchases or obtains gasoline from a supplier for use in motor vehicles and receives delivery of that product into a storage tank of at least five hundred fifty gallon capacity substantially under the control of that organization.
b. No distributor shall sell or transfer to any other distributor, retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer any gasoline which is represented to be unleaded unless such gasoline meets the defined requirements for unleaded gasoline set forth in subdivision a of this section.
c. No retailer or employee or agent of a retailer, and no wholesale purchaser-consumer or employee or agent of a wholesale purchaser-consumer, shall sell, dispense or offer for sale gasoline represented to be unleaded unless such gasoline meets the defined requirements for unleaded gasoline set forth in subdivision a of this section.
d. Every retailer and wholesale purchaser-consumer shall affix to each gasoline pump stand in a location so as to be readily visible to the employees of such retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer and to persons operating motor vehicles into which gasoline is to be dispensed a permanent legible label as follows: (i) for gasoline pump stands containing pumps for introduction of unleaded gasoline into motor vehicles, the label shall state: "Unleaded gasoline"; and (ii) for gasoline pump stands containing pumps for introduction of leaded gasoline into motor vehicles, the label shall state: "Contains lead anti-knock compounds"; provided, however, that where more than one grade of unleaded gasoline is offered for sale at a retail outlet, compliance with this subdivision is required for only one grade.
e. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, in any proceeding to adjudicate a violation of subdivision d of this section, a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer may be found not to be liable for violation thereof where it is shown that more than one grade of gasoline is dispensed from a gasoline pump or pump stand and it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the commissioner that an alternative system of labeling furthers the objectives of such subdivision.
f. Any violation of subdivision c of this section by a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer shall also be deemed a violation by:
(1) the reseller, if any, and the refiner, where the corporate, trade or brand name of such refiner or any of its marketing subsidiaries appears on the pump stand or is displayed at the retail outlet or wholesale purchaser-consumer facility from which the gasoline was sold, dispensed or offered for sale. Except as provided in subdivision g of this section, the refiner shall be deemed in violation of subdivision c of this section irrespective of whether any other refiner, distributor, retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer may have caused or permitted the violation; or
(2) the distributor who sold such retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer gasoline contained in the storage tank which supplied the pump from which the gasoline was sold, dispensed or offered for sale which gave rise to the violation, where the corporate, trade or brand name of a refiner or any of its marketing subsidiaries does not appear on the pump stand and is not displayed at the retail outlet or wholesale purchaser-consumer facility from which the gasoline was sold, dispensed or offered for sale.
g. (1) In any case in which a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer and any refiner or distributor would be in violation or be deemed in violation of subdivision c of this section, the retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer shall not be liable if he or she can demonstrate that the violation was not caused by such retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer or his or her employee or agent.
(2) In any case in which a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer would be in violation of subdivision c of this section, and a reseller, if any, and any refiner would be deemed in violation under paragraph one of subdivision f of this section, the refiner shall not be deemed in violation if he or she can demonstrate:
(a) that the violation was not caused by such refiner or his or her employee or agent, and
(b) that the violation was caused by an act in violation of any law, other than the provisions of this section, or an act of sabotage, vandalism, or deliberate commingling of leaded and unleaded gasoline, whether or not such acts are violations of law in the jurisdiction where the violation of the requirements of this section occurred, or
(c) that the violation was caused by the action of a reseller or a retailer supplied by such reseller, in violation of a contractual undertaking imposed by the refiner on such reseller designed to prevent such action, and despite reasonable efforts by the refiner to insure compliance with such contractual obligation, such as periodic sampling, or
(d) that the violation was caused by the action of a retailer who is supplied directly by the refiner and not by a reseller, in violation of a contractual undertaking imposed by the refiner on such retailer designed to prevent such action, and despite reasonable efforts by the refiner to insure compliance with such contractual obligation, such as periodic sampling, or
(e) that the violation was caused by the action of a distributor subject to a contract with the refiner for transportation of gasoline from a terminal to a distributor, retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer, in violation of a contractual undertaking imposed by the refiner on such distributor designed to prevent such action, and despite reasonable efforts by the refiner to insure compliance with such contractual obligation, such as periodic sampling, or
(f) that the violation was caused by a distributor (such as a common carrier) not subject to a contract with the refiner but engaged by him or her for transportation of gasoline from a terminal to a distributor, retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer, despite reasonable efforts by the refiner to prevent such action, such as specification or inspection of equipment, or
(g) that the violation occurred at a wholesale purchaser-consumer facility; provided, however, that if such wholesale purchaser-consumer was supplied by a reseller, the refiner must demonstrate that the violation could not have been prevented by such reseller's compliance with a contractual undertaking imposed by the refiner on such reseller as provided in subparagraph c of this paragraph.
(h) For purposes of subparagraphs (b) through (f) of this paragraph, the term "was caused" means that the refiner must demonstrate by reasonably specific showings by direct or circumstantial evidence that the violation was caused or must have been caused by another.
(3) In any case in which a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer would be in violation of subdivision c of this section, and a reseller and any refiner would be deemed in violation under paragraph one of subdivision f of this section, the reseller shall not be deemed in violation if he or she can demonstrate that the violation was not caused by such reseller or his or her employee or agent.
(4) In any case in which a retailer or wholesale purchaser-consumer would be in violation of subdivision c of this section, and any distributor would be deemed in violation under paragraph two of subdivision f of this section, the distributor will not be deemed in violation if he or she can demonstrate that the violation was not caused by such distributor or his or her employee or agent.