SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Stephen L. Johnson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), at the request of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, has exercised his authority under the Clean Air Act to temporarily waive federal enforcement of state clean fuel requirements for the St. Clair, Madison and Monroe counties in Illinois (the St. Louis Metro-East area) to help avoid any fuel shortages following the severe storms that hit southwestern Illinois late last week.
Johnson determined that extreme and unusual circumstances exist based on [image-nocss] the recent weather events, which caused electricity outages and damage to the ConocoPhillips 306,000-barrels-per-day Wood River oil refinery in Roxanna, Ill., resulting in a supply shortage of fuel in some of the areas served by the refinery.
The federal waiver will permit an adequate supply of gasoline in the affected area.
President Bush and the EPA support this waiver request to address the impacts of the storm on fuel supplies and to allow greater flexibility for the fuel distribution system. The Illinois EPA (IEPA) is acting in parallel to issue short-term regulatory relief from state volatility standards.
Under the Energy Policy Act emergency authority invoked by the administrator, the waiver will be effective through Aug. 4, 2006. The waiver applies to the 7.2 RVP (Reid vapor pressure) gasoline volatility requirements for St. Clair, Madison and Monroe counties in Illinois.
In assessing the local circumstances, EPA and DOE consulted with state and industry officials to determine the extent and duration of the fuel supply disruption. Gasoline volatility standards are imposed during summer months to help control emissions from motor vehicles; temporary suspension of such standards will allow for the sale of available supplies of conventional gasoline which have higher volatility limits. EPA and DOE carefully examined all aspects of the fuel supply situation in the St. Louis Metro-East area and, in accordance with statutory provisions, determined that granting a short-term waiver was consistent with the public interest.
The state of Illinois has separately determined that issuance of a short-term waiver of state fuel requirements is appropriate and necessary in this circumstance.
In a separate letter, Blagojevich called on the federal EPA to help prevent fuel shortages from affecting other areas of the state by evaluating whether a temporary waiver of the reformulated gasoline requirements for the Chicago metro area is warranted.
A gasoline shortage might develop if the state EPA doesn't grant, and the federal EPA doesn't allow, the waiver, David Sykuta of the Illinois/Missouri Petroleum Council, told the Associated Press. We've not had a problem so far because many people haven't had power, said Sykuta, the group's executive director. Once everyone gets their electricity back on, more people will be moving around. That will create a demand for more gas.
In a statement Monday, Houston-based ConocoPhillips said crews at the refinery about 20 miles northeast of St. Louis have been working around the clock to get the site back on line and were beginning the restart process. If all goes well, we hope to have all operating units back on line sometime next week, the company said, adding that it will do everything possible to meet all supply obligations of refined products from Wood River.
The company said the shutdown was done safely and had no known community impacts. None of the workers at the site, among ConocoPhillips' dozen U.S. refineries, were injured.
In neighboring Missouri, Sykuta said, shortages have not developed because gasoline made especially for that market comes through pipelines from Texas Gulf Coast refineries.
The system is very tight, Sykuta said, with almost no tolerance for disruption, since the federal EPA designated boutique fuels for specific markets to lessen air pollution. Each fuel comes from a specific refinery.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.