285.31 Gasoline vapor recovery.

(1) Definitions. In this section:

(a) “Gasoline dispensing facility" means a place where gasoline is dispensed to motor vehicle gasoline tanks from stationary storage tanks.

(b) “Retail station" means a gasoline dispensing facility where gasoline is sold at retail.

(c) “Vapor control system" means a system that gathers vapors of organic compounds, including gasoline and benzene, released during the operation of transfer, storage or processing equipment and processes the vapors to prevent their emission into the atmosphere.

(3) Rules.

(a) The department shall promulgate rules, based on requirements under 42 USC 7511a, that require the owner or operator of a retail station that is located in an ozone nonattainment area with a classification under 42 USC 7511 (a) of moderate or worse to install and operate a vapor control system that is approved by the department on the equipment that is used to dispense gasoline to a motor vehicle gasoline tank or other fuel tank.

(b) The department shall establish vapor recovery efficiency standards for vapor control systems approved under par. (a). The department shall use nationally recognized methods to determine the vapor recovery efficiency of vapor control systems.

(4) Implementation of requirements.

(a) The rules promulgated under sub. (3) shall have an effective date of November 15, 1992. The rules shall apply the requirements under sub. (3) beginning on November 15, 1993, except that the requirements under sub. (3) shall apply beginning on May 15, 1993, to retail stations the construction of which begins after November 15, 1990.

(b) The department may not require the owner or operator of a retail station that is located in this state to install or operate a vapor control system for gasoline dispensing equipment before November 15, 1993, or, if construction of the retail station begins after November 15, 1990, before May 15, 1993.

(5) Termination of requirements.

(a) The rules promulgated under sub. (3) cease to apply on the effective date of the waiver of the requirement for vapor control systems specified by the federal environmental protection agency in a regulation promulgated under 42 USC 7521 (a) (6). Beginning on that day, persons owning or operating retail stations are not required to maintain vapor control systems described in sub. (3) (a).

(b) The department may promulgate by rule requirements for capping and closing vapor control systems described in sub. (3) (a).

(c) The rules promulgated under sub. (3) (a) do not apply to a retail station the construction of which begins after April 17, 2012.

(6) Vapor recovery system removal grants.

(ae) In this subsection:

1. “Dispenser" means a device that dispenses fuel and measures the amount dispensed.

2. “Hanging hardware" means the equipment on the outside of a dispenser cabinet through which fuel is dispensed, including hose adapters, breakaway connectors, hoses, swivels, and nozzles.

3. “PEI/RP300-09" means the 2009 version of the Petroleum Equipment Institute publication Recommended Practices for Installation and Testing of Vapor-Recovery Systems at Vehicle-Fueling Sites.

(am) The department shall administer a program to provide grants to owners and operators of retail stations for eligible costs incurred after April 15, 2012, to remove vapor control systems described in sub. (3) (a). The maximum grant under this subsection is 50 percent of eligible costs of removing a vapor control system from a retail station or $8,000, whichever is less. The department shall award grants under this subsection in the order in which applications are received.

(b) The costs of all of the following are eligible costs under this subsection:

1. Labor and parts associated with any electrical work or programming required to convert an existing dispenser from operating with vapor recovery to operating without vapor recovery.

2. Labor and parts for replacing hanging hardware designed for vapor recovery on an existing dispenser with hanging hardware that is not designed for vapor recovery.

3. If the owner or operator replaces an existing dispenser with a new or used dispenser, the cost of the hanging hardware on the new or used dispenser.

4. Labor and parts to prepare the interior of a dispenser for the tests described in subd. 5., including the installation of a pipe plug in the vapor return line.

5. Conducting tests required by section 14 of PEI/RP300-09, but the costs of repair or parts associated with these tests or of any additional labor involved in the repair, replacement, or installation of parts not associated with the vapor recovery equipment are not eligible costs.

(c) Costs of parts and labor not described in par. (b) are eligible costs under this subsection if the owner or operator itemizes the costs and includes an explanation showing the reason for incurring those costs with the application for the grant and the department determines that it was necessary to incur those costs. The costs of work that is not consistent with the procedures specified in section 14 of PEI/RP300-09 are not eligible costs unless the owner or operator obtains written approval of the work from the department of safety and professional services or, after July 1, 2013, the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection and includes a copy of the written approval with the application for the grant.

History: 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 16; 1995 a. 27, 144; 1995 a. 227 s. 504; Stats. 1995 s. 285.31; 1997 a. 27; 2011 a. 196; 2013 a. 20, 86.