As a result of the Clean Air Act, the United States has made enormous strides in improving air quality in the past four decades. Despite this progress, over 50% of Americans still live in counties with unhealthy levels of air pollution. One source of such pollution is gas stations, which can contribute to air pollution through leaks in dispensing equipment and improper gasoline storage.  

Across the country the Environmental Protection Agency and state and local government bodies have developed rules to reduce pollution by ensuring that gas stations install and maintain equipment to control pollution and inspect for leaks. However, with nearly 112,000 gas stations nationwide, ensuring compliance with these self-inspection requirements is difficult. 

The Energy & Environment Lab and the University of California Irvine have partnered with the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency in Washington State and the South Coast Air Quality Management District in California to design and develop a new approach aimed at increasing the effectiveness of gas station self-inspections. The program uses an app-based self-monitoring system to make self-inspections easier, to incentivize gas stations’ compliance with environmental rules, and ultimately to improve air quality.