ALEXANDRIA, Va. - In January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed regulations to tighten the standards controlling ozone emissions into the atmosphere. This proposal is expected to push a significant number of counties into an environmental designation of severe non-attainment with ozone standards.

The implications for petroleum retailers could be significant: severe non-attainment designations trigger a requirement that retailers install stationary Stage II Vapor Recovery Equipment?"a project that can cost a retailer more than $50,000 per location.

In comments filed this week (PDF), NACS asked EPA to take action to eliminate this requirement. The Clean Air Act provides for removal of the Stage II program once vehicles that are equipped with onboard vapor recovery systems are in "widespread use." The definition of "widespread use" is left to the discretion of EPA, which has not yet finalized this definition.

Consequently, Stage II remains in effect even though the overwhelming majority of vehicles in the United States are equipped with onboard systems. In fact, onboard systems were required to be phased-in to the vehicle pool beginning with 40 percent of vehicles manufactured in 1998 and 100 percent of vehicles manufactured in 2000.

"The latest projection of the achievement of widespread use acknowledged by EPA is 2015," wrote NACS in its comments. "As a result, the re-designation of an area as being in either severe or extreme non-attainment can trigger a legal requirement for the installation of equipment which is expensive, non-productive and completely duplicative of the on-board recovery equipment."

NACS urged EPA to make its declaration of widespread use as part of any final rule changing the ozone standards.