WASHINGTON (May 14, 2012)—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will phase out Stage II emissions controls on gasoline pumps at service stations.
“Modern vehicles are equipped to capture these emissions,” the EPA said in a May 10 press release accompanying a final rule establishing the phaseout. There was no immediate word on a timetable to remove the controls.
Since 1994, the EPA has required Stage II controls on gasoline pumps in about 40 areas across the U.S. that did not meet Clean Air Act limits for ozone.
However, since approximately 70 percent of all U.S. vehicles are now equipped to capture gasoline vapors on their own, the Obama administration has determined the Stage II controls are unnecessary and burdensome to service station owners, the agency said.
The final rule will affect some 31,000 U.S. gas stations and save each one more than $3,000 annually, the EPA said.
The Tire Industry Association is pleased with the final rule, although it thinks the EPA should have issued the phaseout a long time ago, according to Roy Littlefield, TIA executive vice president.