Since only 35% of the fuel stations in Poland have been able to comply with new national regulations, members of the Polish Ministry of Trade have proposed a new deadline for petrol stations to meet the requirements, reported Polish Radio, as cited by thenews.pl.
The ministers have proposed that the former deadline of December 31, 2007 be postponed to December 31, 2010.
In 2006, in order to prevent petrol from seeping into the soil, an act was enforced in Poland that required petrol and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) containers in fuel stations to be fitted with systems that would prevent the leakage of oil-based products.
However, many small fuel stations in rural areas are not able to equip themselves with such systems. As a result, fuel prices may rise in these areas as the retail outlets attempt to make the costly changes needed to adhere to the new regulations, reported Polish Radio, as cited by thenews.pl.
Poland currently has 27,00 stations across the country, of which the rural areas encompass 6,700 filling stations and 56 LPG bases, the publication revealed.