WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a proposal under the Clean Air Act that would waive requirements for systems used at convenience store and gas station pumps to capture gasoline vapors while refueling.

Beginning in 2013, EPA estimates that 70 percent of all vehicles will be equipped with on-board systems to capture these vapors, rendering the use of Stage II vapor recovery systems redundant. Eliminating the Stage II requirement could save affected retail fueling locations substantially more than $3,000 annually and eliminate installation expenses of more than $50,000 or $100,000.

Since 1994, retail fueling locations in certain areas (ozone nonattainment counties) have been required to use gasoline vapor recovery systems, which capture fumes that escape from gasoline tanks during refueling. However, as required by the Clean Air Act, automobile manufacturers began installing onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) technologies in 1998, making c-store and gas station systems redundant. Since 2006, all new automobiles and light trucks (pickups, vans, and SUVs) are equipped with ORVR.

The Clean Air Act allows EPA to establish criteria for waiving federal requirements for vapor recovery systems on gasoline pumps when ORVR systems are widely available in the vehicle fleet. EPA is proposing June 30, 2013, as the date for when a sufficient portion of the U.S. vehicle fleet will be equipped with such technology.

There are several important components of the proposed rule worth noting:

1. EPA has determined that ORVR will be in widespread use nation-wide on June 30, 2013. This will satisfy the Clean Air Act??s provision for determining that Stage II vapor recovery is no longer required in counties found to be in "Serious," "Severe" and "Extreme" non-attainment for ozone.
2. States which believe ORVR will be in widespread use in their regions prior to June 30, 2013, are permitted to submit additional data supporting a regional waiver prior to the federal date.
3. Before Stage II vapor recovery requirements are removed from non-attainment counties, states must submit to EPA revisions to their State Implementation Plans for air quality. States may submit proposed revisions prior to June 30, 2013, in order to accommodate repeal of the Stage II requirement in a timely manner.
4. Regions that are classified as in "Serious," "Severe" or "Extreme" non-attainment with federal ozone standards for the first time after January 1, 2011, need not require Stage II vapor recovery at retail facilities. The regulations requiring Stage II provide 30 months for such regions to come into compliance with such requirements. Consequently, the Stage II federal requirement will be repealed prior to this compliance deadline.

EPA will accept comment on the proposal for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. NACS is reviewing the proposal more closely and will file comments. One particular concern NACS will ask EPA to accommodate is the applicability of Stage II requirements to newly constructed facilities between now and the official repeal of the requirement. NACS does not believe new sites should have to invest the capital to install a system that will be ruled obsolete in less than two years.

More information, go to the EPA??s website.