YIKES! LAST MINUTE REPRIEVE FOR CALIFORNIA GAS STATIONS: They Won’t Be Closed For Failing To Meet New Clean Air Law, But They Will Be Smacked Around A Little

At least 2000 of the 3900 stations in the Southern California region and 60 percent of gas stations statewide have failed to do exactly that.

But, in a last minute deal (of sorts) air regulators have eased off threats to close gas stations that don’t meet today’s deadline to upgrade pumps to reduce toxic vapors. But the technology’s cost — about $11,000 per pump — still threatens to put hundreds of stations out of business.

Designed to prevent gas emissions from entering the atmosphere while drivers fuel up, the mandated equipment is expected to cut the release of 10 tons a day in smog-producing compounds.

The deal is not much of a deal though, because local air districts can impose daily fines of as much as thousands of dollars, and shut down stations temporarily or permanently depending on levels of compliance. But under last-minute pressure from Sacramento, local air officials said no gas stations will be shut down, although fines still will be imposed.

On Friday Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the California Air Resources Board Friday to delay new curbs on gas-station emissions, set to take effect Wednesday, because of their potential for “significant negative effects on our state’s economy.”

The April 1 regulation ensures that virtually all smog-producing vapors do not leak out of underground tanks, pumps and nozzles. The rule would reduce emissions by the equivalent of taking 450,000 cars off the road every day, according to the agency, which approved the regulation in 2000.

“With millions of Californians out of work and businesses struggling to hold on, we must be extremely cautious in implementing new environmental regulations that can hurt families, consumers and small businesses,” the governor wrote in a letter to Mary Nichols, who chairs the air board.

The agency faces mounting resistance from business interests and owners over several regulations that would come at a cost, but this is the first time the governor, who regularly touts his environmental credentials, has sought a delay.

Schwarzenegger also called on legislative leaders to draft legislation to help gas station owners finance the necessary upgrades and an “enforcement holiday” of one year in which owners could not be fined or shut down as long as they showed “good faith” to make the changes.

The governor did not say how he thought the state should pay for such a program, though Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, D-Redwood City, has already proposed legislation for that kind of fund