(a) Notwithstanding Section 34002 of the Vehicle Code, the state board shall adopt test procedures to determine the compliance of vapor recovery systems of cargo tanks on tank vehicles used to transport gasoline with vapor emission standards which are reasonable and necessary to achieve or maintain any applicable ambient air quality standard. The performance standards and test procedures adopted by the state board shall be consistent with the regulations adopted by the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol and the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Division 14.7 (commencing with Section 34001) of the Vehicle Code.

(b) The state board may test, or contract for testing, the vapor recovery system of any cargo tank of any tank vehicle used to transport gasoline. The state board shall certify the cargo tank vapor recovery system upon its determination that the system, if properly installed and maintained, will meet the requirements of subdivision (a). The state board shall enumerate the specifications used for issuing such certification. After a cargo tank vapor recovery system has been certified, if circumstances beyond control of the state board cause the system to no longer meet the required specifications, the certification may be revoked or modified.

(c) Upon verification of certification pursuant to subdivision (b), which shall be done annually, the state board shall send a verified copy of the certification to the registered owner of the tank vehicle, which copy shall be retained in the tank vehicle as evidence of certification of its vapor recovery system. For each system certified, the state board shall issue a nontransferable and nonremovable decal to be placed on the cargo tank where the decal can be readily seen.

(d) With respect to any tank vehicle operated within a district, the state board, upon request of the district, shall send to the district, free of charge, a certified copy of the certification and test results of any cargo tank vapor recovery system on the tank vehicle.

(e) The state board may contract with the Department of the California Highway Patrol to carry out the responsibilities imposed by subdivisions (b), (c), and (d).

(f) The state board shall charge a reasonable fee for certification, not to exceed its estimated costs therefor. Payment of the fee shall be a condition of certification. The fees may be collected by the Department of the California Highway Patrol and deposited in the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation Fund. The Department of the California Highway Patrol shall transfer to the Air Pollution Control Fund the amount of those fees necessary to reimburse the state board for the costs of administering the certification program.

(g) No person shall operate, or allow the operation of, a tank vehicle transporting gasoline and required to have a vapor recovery system, unless the system thereon has been certified by the state board and is installed and maintained in compliance with the state board’s requirements for certification. Tank vehicles used exclusively to service gasoline storage tanks which are not required to have gasoline vapor controls are exempt from the certification requirement.

(h) Performance standards of any district for cargo tank vapor recovery systems on tank vehicles used to transport gasoline shall be identical with those adopted by the state board therefor and no district shall adopt test procedures for, or require certification of, cargo tank vapor recovery systems. No district may impose any fees on, or require any permit of, tank vehicles with vapor recovery systems. However, nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a district from inspecting and testing cargo tank vapor recovery systems on tank vehicles for the purposes of enforcing this section or any rule and regulation adopted thereunder that are applicable to such systems and to the loading and unloading of cargo tanks on tank vehicles.

(i) The Legislature hereby declares that the purposes of this section regarding cargo tank vapor recovery systems on tank vehicles are (1) to remove from the districts the authority to certify, except as specified in subdivision (b), such systems and to charge fees therefor, and (2) to grant such authority to the state board, which shall have the primary responsibility to assure that such systems are operated in compliance with its standards and procedures adopted pursuant to subdivision (a).

(Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1255, Sec. 2. Operative July 1, 1983, or sooner, by Sec. 27.5 of Ch. 1255.)