When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed the Clean Air Act, it required that service stations adopt Stage II vapor recovery systems. Such systems are intended to capture gasoline emissions created when automobiles and other vehicles are refueled at service stations. In addition, the Clean Air Act also required automobile makers to add On-board Refueling Vapor Recovery (ORVR) systems to automobiles and other vehicles in a phased in approach starting in 1998.

  Since 2006, all new automobiles and light - and medium - duty cars, vans and trucks are equipped with ORVR systems . For this reason, and because the EPA has determined that ORVR systems are considered in “widespread use” since June 30, 2013, the requirements for Stage II equipment at service stations are being waived and allow equipment to be removed or decommissioned.

  Decommission of Stage II equipment is being done on a state - by - state basis. Each state will ultimately make its own decision if and when to eliminate its Stage II program. This decision is determined by the EPA’s “widespread use ” policy, the state’s vehicle fleet characteristics, and the benefits/costs of keeping Stage II equipment to capture vapors from older vehicles that do not have ORVR systems.

  With this in mind, as more and more states begin to claim widespread use of ORVR technology, the need for Stage II vapor recovery component installation, maintenance, and testing will become obsolete. Station owners will begin to benefit from reduced operating costs as a result, but will first need to convert their stations to conventional equipment.

   So, how substantial the benefit?

  As a gas station owner and/or operator, your benefits from removing Stage II vapor recovery equipment come down to significant savings in operation and maintenance of your  gas station as follows:

1. Shorter daily inspections to dispensers, hanging hardware and nozzles. This lets your personnel free to go take care of what really matters: selling and serving your customers inside.
2. Conventional hoses, swivels, breakaways and nozzles cost a fraction of those used in Stage II recovery systems, so much less money to pay next time you have to change a nozzle.
3. Much simpler hanging hardware means easier to replace, so labor costs are lower or non-existing as you can change it yourself (and we get you all the parts, tools and materials, of course!).
4. One less inspection to worry about, that means reduced risk of fines and fees
5. Less parts and systems that have to work together means reduced points of failure and less downtime. And that is a good thing: more time the dispenser is up dispensing and making you money, just the way it is supposes to be.