I guess there are some general guidelines you can follow in the world of Sacramento.  One of them is that behind liberals creating messes by increasing the size and scope of the state’s bureaucracy is a conservative cleaning up the mess. 

Recently we brought you a column from Republican Assemblyman Jeff Miller, where he went into some detail about how gas station owners are being hit with a draconian regulation to update all of their pumps with some new technology that has a fractional effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from stations.  The cost for this new equipment is high, and the ability to comply difficult.  Read more about that here.

It would appear that Miller’s Republican colleague, Martin Garrick, rolled up his sleeves and has, in the absence of a repeal of this draconian regulation, at least negotiated a "settlement" over this matter.  We asked the Assemblyman to share with FR readers what he has pulled together…

FROM ASSEMBLYMAN MARTIN GARRICK…

I am pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached between gas station owners and local air districts charged with enforcing environmental regulations.  The agreement will provide immediate relief and ensure that station owners who make a good faith effort to comply with a new air regulation will not face heavy fines or be shut down due to their inability to purchase equipment. 
 
The equipment, called an Enhanced Vapor Recovery system, has an average cost of $50,000.  With a deadline of April 1, 2009, 51% of stations had not installed the equipment by that date due to effects of a deteriorating economy and tightening of the credit market. Although the regulation was adopted by the California Air Resources Board in 2000, the system compatible with most stations was not certified and available until October 2007- two months before the United States officially entered a recession.
 
The agreement will ensure thousands of stations are not threatened with closure during one of the worst economic downturns in American history. It just makes sense that air districts would agree to work with station owners instead of fining them or closing them down. When stations close down, it hurts everyone; prices go up for consumers, people are laid off and business owners lose their investments.
 
Prior to the agreement, air districts could have fined up to $25,000 per day or closed a station for not installing the Enhanced Vapor Recovery system. Late last week, all 35 air districts agreed to implement the provisions of my AB 453. The bill would have capped fines at $1000 until December 31, 2009 for station owners that applied for their permit by April 1 and also completed a compliance agreement with their respective air districts by June 31. Air districts also agreed to refund any fines which have already been collected in excess of $1000.
 
After AB 453 passed out of committee with bi-partisan support on May 7, air districts came to the negotiating table and agreed to implement the provisions of my bill.
 
This is not a partisan issue. Every legislator has stations in their district facing heavy fines or closure. I am proud I was able to play a role in this agreement which encourages stations to comply with the regulation and doesn’t sacrifice air quality. Instead of navigating costly bureaucratic regulations, thousands of station owners and employees can focus on feeding their families.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.