October 12, 2023

Top Stories This Week:

New Upcoming NJGCA Webinar: Franchise Law Updates You Need To Know:

If your gas station and/or c-store is a franchisee of a national brand, odds are that you haven’t thought about your franchise agreement for some time. Or maybe you’re thinking about opening a new location. Either way, this webinar is for you.

There are franchise laws that specifically protect gas station owners in disputes with franchisors. Join Marisa Rauchway and Mauro Tucci of CSG Law  on Wednesday, November 1st at 12 PM for a practical discussion about what these protections mean for your business. CSG is one of the state’s top law firms and they have been great supporters of NJGCA for several years. 

Register for the webinar HERE or find more information at NJGCA.org. 

Right to Repair: We Need to Hear From You!

A hearing was held recently in Congress for the first time discussing right to repair for all vehicles as well as other types of technology. A representative from the Auto Care Association, which has been the lead advocate for this testified in favor of the need for a federal bill to guarantee full access to vehicle data from the manufacturers in order to ensure motorists can get their car repaired wherever they want. 

We’re planning to reach out to some members of Congress from New Jersey to talk more about why this is needed for small business. If you’ve been affected by the lack of access to customer’s vehicle data, please email Eric@njgca.org so when we schedule a meeting with your member of Congress we can invite you to join, whether by zoom or in-person at their local district office. One of the main arguments made against this law by the manufacturers is that it is unnecessary because all the data needed to repair vehicles is already available. We need actual small businesses who have had actual experience not being able to fix a customers’ car to counter this claim. 

Reminder: NJDEP Enhanced Vapor Recovery Upgrade 

This upgrade affects all locations with tanks installed prior to December 23, 2017. Any tanks installed on/after December 23, 2017 are unaffected; and should have had these enhancements made at the time of installation. Those affected facilities must upgrade to new, full EVR requirements by December 23, 2024. 

The upgraded system is a California Air Resources Board (CARB) Certified Phase 1 system, and includes enhanced rotatable fill adaptors, dust caps, spill buckets, hoses, and other requirements. Stations that do not upgrade their facility by December 23, 2024 may face fines or penalties for non-compliance. 

In following the same mindset that forewarned the implementation of the Stage II Vacuum Assist Vapor Recovery decommissioning (which ended on December 23, 2020), NJGCA highly recommends that all affected stations comply with the upcoming mandates well ahead of the deadline. Those stations with tanks installed prior to December 23, 2017 should contact their compliance vendor to inquire about the updates and schedule their completion before the deadline. With both the end of Stage II and the credit card EMV upgrades, we saw a lot of people wait until the final few weeks before the deadline and they suffered for it with long waits and higher costs. Do not wait until the last minute! If you have any questions, contact Nick at nick@njgca.org for more information. 

Top Industry News:

Available Real Estate

Cape Harbor Shell

795 Route 109

Unit B

Lower Township, NJ, 08204

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