5 Petrol vapour recovery at filling stations
| (30271)
17170/08
+ ADDs 1-2
COM(08) 812
| Draft Directive on Stage II petrol vapour recovery during refuelling of passenger cars at service stations
|
| Legal base | Article 175EC; co-decision; QMV
|
| Department | Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
|
| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 5 June 2009
|
| Previous Committee Report | HC 19-xvii (2008-09), chapter 2 (13 May 2009)
|
| To be discussed in Council | See para 5.8 below
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared
|
Background
5.1 Because emissions of volatile organic compounds from petrol
contribute to air quality problems, the Community introduced a
Directive (94/63/EC) to recover vapour emitted from the storage
of petrol and its distribution between terminals and service stations
("Stage I petrol vapour recovery"). However, the Commission's
Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution pointed out that the measures
being taken to increase the volume of biofuels in petrol involved
changes in vapour pressure limits, and would thus lead to higher
emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC). It said that it
would therefore bring forward a proposal to introduce the recovery
of vapour during the refilling of passenger cars at filling stations.
5.2 The Commission accordingly put forward in December
2008 the current document, which would require Member States to
ensure:
- that as from 1 July 2012 any
new service station is equipped with a Stage II petrol vapour
recovery system[17] if
its annual throughput is more than 500m3 (though, in
the case of such stations situated under permanent living quarters
or working areas, this requirement would apply irrespective of
throughput);
- that any existing service station with a throughput
greater than 500m3 is from 1 July 2012 equipped with
such a system when it undergoes major refurbishment;
- that any existing service station with an annual
throughput in excess of 3000m3 is fitted with such
a system no later than 31 December 2020.
5.3 As we noted in our Report of 13 May 2009, most
petrol stations in the UK comply with Directive 94/63/EC, and
from 2010 many will also be required under domestic regulations
to implement provisions akin to those in this proposal, although
the trigger thresholds are slightly different. Thus, the UK regulations
will have an upper threshold of 3500m3 (rather than
the 3000m3 now proposed), whilst the 500m3 threshold
would apply only to new service stations (and not to existing
ones undergoing major refurbishment).
5.4 The Government described these thresholds as
being the principal issue for the UK, and said that it would be
undertaking an Impact Assessment in order to determine the implications,
adding that it was not at that stage clear whether any further
progress would be made in Brussels, pending the European Parliament
elections and the installation of a new Commission. We therefore
said that we thought it would be sensible to await that Assessment
before taking a view of the proposal.
5.5 We subsequently received from the Minister for
Sustainable Development, Climate Change Adaptation and Air Quality
at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord
Hunt) a supplementary Explanatory Memorandum of 30 April 2009,
in which he said that the negotiations were proceeding very rapidly,
with the aim of securing a first reading agreement at the beginning
of May 2009. He anticipated that there would be pressure either
to reduce the deadline by which existing petrol stations must
fit the new equipment, or to lower the 3000 m3 threshold,
adding that the former course would be preferable from a UK point
of view.
5.6 In view of the timetable, the Minister also enclosed
a draft report by the consultants who had been preparing the UK
Impact Assessment, and drew attention to their
conclusion that the typical capital costs
of installing Stage II controls was around £30,000 for a
new service station with a throughput between 3000m3 and
3500m3, or as part of major refurbishment of such a
station; that the capital costs would increase to around £130,000
if the upgrade is undertaken outside the scheduled refurbishment
cycle (although this would vary according to how much the scheduled
refurbishment was brought forward); and that the comparative costs
per tonne of VOC abated would be £700-£1300 (depending
on the whether the value of the recovered fuel is included) for
new stations and on-schedule upgrade, or £1900-£2400
where upgrading is required in advance of scheduled upgrade.
5.7 We said that we were grateful for this information,
and recognised that, to the extent the original Commission proposal
reflected the approach in the UK regulations due to come into
force next year, it did not involve any major questions of principle.
It nevertheless gave rise to a number of unresolved issues, and
we were concerned that a decision might be rushed through simply
in order to reach a first reading agreement. In particular, we
said that we had found it difficult to form a clear view of how
the proposal may have evolved during discussions in Brussels,
in that there had been suggestions that its scope might be widened
by reducing the 3000m3 and 500m3 thresholds:
also, although the consultants' report provided a plethora of
information, we were unclear whether, on the assumptions contained
in it, the quantified benefits would be outweighed by the costs.
In view of this, we said that we were reporting the document to
the House, but that, before we could consider clearing it, we
thought it right to await further clarification from the Government
of the latest contents and the overall cost-benefit balance.
Minister's letter of 5 June 2009
5.8 We have now received from the Minister a letter
of 5 June 2009, enclosing text of the final compromise submitted
to COREPER on 22 April, and voted upon at the European Parliament's
Plenary Session on 5 May, which the Council is expected to adopt
in the autumn. This would retain the 3000m3 threshold
at which any existing service station would have to be fitted
with a Stage II vapour recovery system, whilst bringing forward
the operative date forward from 2020 to 2018, and it would also
retain the 500m3 threshold for new stations or those
undergoing major refurbishment (though these requirements would
now apply to stations situated under permanent living quarters
or working areas only where the throughput is greater than 100m3).
5.9 The Minister's letter also summarises the likely
costs and benefits of the proposal, as compared with application
of existing UK legislation. He suggests that the annualised costs
would be between £4.0 and 7.4 million (or £2.7 million
to 5.5 million, if the value of recovered fuel is deducted). However,
the benefits — which would arise from reductions in the
health impact and climate change effects of VOC emissions —
would depend upon whether the health impact is calculated under
the methodology adopted within the UK by the Inter-departmental
Group on Costs and Benefits (IGCB) or using that adopted by the
Commission under the Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) programme: thus,
in the former case, the annualised benefits would be between £0.7
and 1.1 million, whereas in the latter they would be between £5.1
and 7.8 million.
Conclusion
5.10 We are grateful to the Minister for this
information, from which it would appear that, as compared with
the approach under comparable UK regulations which are due to
come into effect shortly, the proposal could give rise to either
a relatively small net benefit or net cost, depending upon which
of the two benefit estimates is used. Having said that, we note
that there is no longer any likelihood of major changes to the
threshold levels at which the proposal would have effect, and,
as we noted in our earlier Report, it does not give rise to any
major points of principle. In view of this, we do not believe
it requires any further consideration, and we are therefore clearing
it.
17 This would recover the petrol vapour displaced from
car fuel tanks during refuelling, and transfer it either to underground
tanks or back to dispensers for resale. Back
|
