DATE: June 5, 2012
CONTACT: Alfred Reid, Pollution Prevention,
Remediation and Air Quality Division
PHONE: 954-519-1432
EMAIL: areid@broward.org
Broward County Pollution Prevention, Remediation and Air Quality Division will host a free public meeting on Monday, July 9, from 9 to 11:30 a.m., in the second floor hearing room of Government Center West, 1 N. University Drive, in Plantation. The purpose of the meeting is to solicit public comment on proposed changes to the Broward County Storage Tank Ordinance governing Vapor Recovery Systems for gas stations.
The proposed change has been prompted by changes to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's (FDEP) Gasoline Vapor Control rule that eliminated the requirement of Stage II Vapor Recovery Systems for gas stations and recent similar changes to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements.
Stage II Vapor Recovery Systems are special nozzles and hoses that help prevent gasoline vapors from escaping fuel tank(s) while customers dispense gasoline into their vehicles at gas stations. The vapors are captured inside the fuel tank and routed back to the station's gasoline storage tank(s) during the refueling process. Both the FDEP and EPA changes were prompted by the growing percentage of new vehicles on the road equipped with vapor recovery units built into the vehicles, making the Stage II Vapor Recovery Systems redundant.
The proposed changes to the Broward County ordinance eliminate local requirements for the Stage II Vapor Recovery Systems and provide for an orderly removal and decommissioning of the Stage II systems at gas stations where they have been installed.
Copies of proposed changes to the Broward County ordinance are available from Broward County Pollution Prevention, Remediation and Air Quality Division offices, located at Government Center West, Suite 203, in Plantation, and at the public meeting on July 9.
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