Charges to cover the costs of local enforcing authorities in regulating processes which are subject to Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Local Air Pollution Control (LAPC)) were introduced in April 1991. Interim charges for installations which are subject to the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 (Local Air Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC) and Local Authority - Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (LA-IPPC)) were introduced in August 2000.

With the approval of the Treasury, and following consultation with local authority associations and industry, I have revised the scheme specifying the scale of fees and charges in respect of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act.

This amendment to the scheme specifies the scale of fees and charges for certain petrol vapour recovery applications, namely, the application and subsistence fees that operators must pay for Stage II petrol vapour recovery (PVR II) systems at existing petrol stations. With effect from 15 June 2007 the application fee for PVR II will be £91 and the subsistence fee for combined PVR I and PVR II will be £202.

The basis of these fees is set out in the consultation paper on “The Implementation of the Petrol Vapour Recovery Stage II Controls” which is available on the DEFRA website.

The amendment has been laid before Parliament and copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.