Source

Directive 2009/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on Stage II petrol vapour recovery during refuelling of motor vehicles at service stations

Directive 2009/126/EC · Directive · 12 articles

Data as of 2026-07-04 · Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗

Subject matter

Article 1

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This Directive lays down measures aimed at reducing the amount of petrol vapour emitted to the atmosphere during the refuelling of motor vehicles at service stations.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive: 1. ‘petrol’ means petrol as defined in Article 2(a) of Directive 94/63/EC; 2. ‘petrol vapour’ means any gaseous compound which evaporates from petrol; 3. ‘service station’ means a service station as defined in Article 2(f) of Directive 94/63/EC; 4. ‘existing service station’ means a service station which is built or for which an individual planning permission, construction licence or operating licence is granted before 1 January 2012; 5. ‘new service station’ means a service station which is built or for which an individual planning permission, construction licence or operating licence is granted on or after 1 January 2012; 6. ‘Stage II petrol vapour recovery system’ means equipment aimed at recovering the petrol vapour displaced from the fuel tank of a motor vehicle during refuelling at a service station and which transfers that petrol vapour to a storage tank at the service station or back to the petrol dispenser for resale; 7. ‘petrol vapour capture efficiency’ means the amount of petrol vapour captured by the Stage II petrol vapour recovery system compared to the amount of petrol vapour that would otherwise be emitted to the atmosphere in the absence of such a system and expressed as a percentage; 8. ‘vapour/petrol ratio’ means the ratio between the volume at atmospheric pressure of petrol vapour passing through the Stage II petrol vapour recovery system and the volume of petrol dispensed; 9. ‘throughput’ means the total annual quantity of petrol unloaded from mobile containers into a service station.

Service stations

Article 3

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1. Member States shall ensure that any new service station shall be equipped with a Stage II petrol vapour recovery system if: (a) its actual or intended throughput is greater than 500 m 3 /year; or (b) its actual or intended throughput is greater than 100 m 3 /year and it is situated under permanent living quarters or working areas. 2. Member States shall ensure that any existing service station which undergoes a major refurbishment shall be equipped with a Stage II petrol vapour recovery system at the time of the refurbishment if: (a) its actual or intended throughput is greater than 500 m 3 /year; or (b) its actual or intended throughput is greater than 100 m 3 /year and it is situated under permanent living quarters or working areas. 3. Member States shall ensure that any existing service station with a throughput in excess of 3 000 m 3 /year shall be equipped with a Stage II petrol vapour recovery system by no later than 31 December 2018. 4. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not apply to service stations exclusively used in association with the construction and delivery of new motor vehicles.

Minimum level of petrol vapour recovery

Article 4

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1. Member States shall ensure, with effect from the date on which Stage II petrol vapour recovery systems become mandatory pursuant to Article 3, that the petrol vapour capture efficiency of such systems is equal to or greater than 85 % as certified by the manufacturer in accordance with relevant European technical standards or type approval procedures referred to in Article 8 or, if there are no such standards or procedures, with any relevant national standard. 2. With effect from the date on which Stage II petrol vapour recovery systems become mandatory pursuant to Article 3, where the recovered petrol vapour is transferred to a storage tank at the service station, the vapour/petrol ratio shall be equal to or greater than 0,95 but less than or equal to 1,05.

Periodic checks and consumer information

Article 5

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1. Member States shall ensure that the in-service petrol vapour capture efficiency of Stage II petrol vapour recovery systems is tested at least once each year either by checking that the vapour/petrol ratio under simulated petrol flow conditions is in conformity with Article 4(2) or by any other appropriate methodology. 2. Where an automatic monitoring system has been installed, Member States shall ensure that the petrol vapour capture efficiency is tested at least once every three years. Any such automatic monitoring system shall automatically detect faults in the proper functioning of the Stage II petrol vapour recovery system and in the automatic monitoring system itself, indicate faults to the service station operator and automatically stop the flow of petrol from the faulty dispenser if the fault is not rectified within seven days. 3. When a service station has installed a Stage II petrol vapour recovery system, Member States shall ensure that it displays a sign, sticker or other notification on, or in the vicinity of, the petrol dispenser, informing consumers of that fact.

Penalties

Article 6

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Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall notify those provisions to the Commission by 1 January 2012 and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them.

Review

Article 7

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The Commission shall, by 31 December 2014, review the implementation of this Directive and, in particular: (a) the 100 m 3 /year threshold referred to in Article 3(1)(b) and (2)(b) of this Directive and Article 6(3) of Directive 94/63/EC; (b) the in-service compliance record of Stage II petrol vapour recovery systems; and (c) the need for automatic monitoring equipment. It shall report the results of that review to the European Parliament and to the Council accompanied, if appropriate, by a legislative proposal.

Technical adaptations

Article 8

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Harmonised methods and standards may be adopted for the purposes of Articles 4 and 5. Where necessary to ensure consistency with any relevant standard drawn up by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), those Articles, with the exception of the petrol vapour capture efficiency and vapour/petrol ratio specified in Article 4 and the time periods specified in Article 5, may be adapted to technical progress. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, inter alia, by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 9(2).

Committee procedure

Article 9

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1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5a(1) to (4), and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

Transposition

Article 10

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1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations, and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive before 1 January 2012. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those measures. When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States. 2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Entry into force

Article 11

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This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .

Addressees

Article 12

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This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Other acts of the same type

Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.

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