Gasoline delivery company fined for air pollution control violations

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today that J.A. DeVos & Sons, Inc of North Ferrisburgh was fined $9,000 for delivering gasoline without ensuring proper gasoline vapor recovery.

In October 2019, J.A. DeVos & Sons, Inc made a fuel delivery to a gas station in downtown Montpelier. DEC personnel responded later that day to a complaint of gasoline odors inside the neighboring Capitol Plaza Hotel. When contacted about the fuel delivery, the employee indicated that they had failed to use proper vapor recovery methods while filling the gasoline storage tank.

As a tank is filled with gasoline, vapors inside a fuel tank rise to the surface. Vermont law requires fuel delivery operators to use vapor recovery equipment that collects gasoline vapors during a fuel delivery to keep them out of the air because the vapors are an environmental pollutant and harmful when inhaled.

“Vermont’s air quality is among the best in the nation, but to maintain that quality, we must all work together,” says Peter Walke, DEC Commissioner. “Air quality protection requires industry, businesses, and individuals to comply with air quality regulations and air pollution control permits. DEC is here to provide technical assistance to help industries and individuals meet those requirements. However, when an entity violates those requirements, DEC may pursue enforcement to ensure compliance and protect the resource.”

To resolve the matter, J.A. DeVos & Sons, Inc. agreed to submit to DEC for review and approval a policy for the proper use of gasoline vapor recovery equipment in accordance with Vermont Air Pollution Control Regulations. The company also agreed to pay a $9,000 fine for the violations. The agreement was incorporated into a Final Judicial Order of the Vermont Superior Court, Environmental Division issued on April 19, 2021.

For more information about DEC’s Air Quality and Climate Division, including compliance guidance for gasoline vapor recovery regulations, visit https://dec.vermont.gov/air-quality.

Source: Montpelier, Vt. – ANR 5.12.2021