By Tony Romeo

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Those vapor recovery systems at gas stations in Philadelphia and the suburbs may soon go by the wayside.

Thanks to new Environmental Protection Agency rules, Kevin Sunday, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, says new gas stations in the region will not be required to install those rubber or plastic sheaths around the gas pump nozzle to trap vapors.

One reason, he says, is that cars built in America since 2006 have vapor recovery systems too.

“And you would think that technology in the car and in the gas nozzle would work together to eliminate these vapors, but what’s happening is they’re actually kind of working against each other, and we’re seeing a net negative in terms of emissions impact.”

The first step will be to eliminate the mandate for new gas stations.

Sunday says the intention is to eventually allow gas stations that have vapor recovery systems to remove them, but he can’t say for sure if and when that might happen.