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PA NEW FUEL PUMPING RATE TO BEGIN JULY 1

Release Date: 06/21/96
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PA NEW FUEL PUMPING RATE TO BEGIN JULY 1

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 1996

NEW FUEL PUMPING RATE TO BEGIN JULY 1

EPA is giving service station owners an additional six months to ensure that gasoline pumping rates do not exceed 10 gallons per minute. The Agency said the delay will give gasoline pump manufacturers additional lead time to produce and certify the hardware and provide service station owners and fleet managers more time to select the most appropriate technology and safely install retrofit devices where needed. Only stations handling over l0,000 gallons of fuel per month are affected. The new pumping rate, originally scheduled to take effect Jan. l, is designed to enhance the performance of current and upcoming evaporative emission and onboard vapor recovery systems. Fuel pumped at a high rate can overwhelm the canisters ability to absorb smog-producing hydrocarbon emissions that escape into the air during refueling and can also result in more incidents of fuel spillage. EPA said the majority of the fuel pumps in the United States are already complying with the 10-gallon per minute rate and that vehicle owners are not likely to notice any difference in the time it takes to refuel their vehicles.