Leslie Eastman reports at Legal Insurrection,
...Environmental Protection Agency is temporarily suspending some rules about gasoline production in an effort to minimize shortages around the southeast
Leslie quotes from a Wall Street Journal article by Timothy Puko who reports,
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is temporarily suspending some of its rules about gasoline production in an effort to minimize shortages around the southeast after Tropical Storm Harvey swamped several big fuel-making plants in Texas.Read more here.
States from Maryland to Texas can sell winter-grade gasoline held in storage now, even though normally that type of fuel wouldn’t become available until fall, according to a federal waiver issued Wednesday. Refineries that continue to operate can also start churning out winter-grade gasoline, which emits more pollution than summer-grade gasoline when combusted in engines.
The waiver, which covers 12 states and Washington, D.C., allows refiners, fuel wholesalers and gas stations in those areas to manufacture and sell high-volatility fuel normally kept off the market during summer months to limit ozone pollution.
Harvey has hobbled the Gulf Coast refining complex, knocking out nearly 4 million barrels a day of fuel-making capacity, or more than 22% of U.S. refining capacity.
The EPA noted that nearly a dozen refineries are shut in the wake of the storm and several more are operating at reduced rates. Weather-related pipeline problems and port infrastructure damaged by Harvey are also limiting shipments of gasoline on pipelines, barges and tankers.
The EPA waiver lasts until September 15 and applies to Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Washington, D.C.
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