Gasoline marketers along the US eastern seaboard were waiting for a response from the federal government Monday on their requests for fuel waivers as some areas ran out of ultra low sulfur diesel in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, marketer officials said Monday.
The Petroleum Marketers Association of America on Friday asked for an immediate waiver of the Environmental Protection Agency's 15 ppm diesel fuel requirement for emergency generators and back-up equipment so that heating oil could be used, rather than just ULSD, by first responders and other service providers.
"The EPA told us only that they 'were working closely with state officials' on Friday," Mark Morgan, regulatory counsel for PMAA, said in an email Monday. "There has been no word from the EPA since despite my requests for updates. There was no official denial only inaction to what we thought was a necessary proactive response to fuel emergency generators and back-up equipment ahead of the storm."
EPA could not be reached for immediate comment on Monday.
A marketer said Sunday that ULSD was no longer available at a terminal in Connecticut, according to Gene Guilford, head of the Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association. He said in an email that he was told Sprague's terminal in Stamford had run out of ULSD. There was no answer to a call placed to that terminal on Monday.
"This morning all [Connecticut] shoreline terminals are closed, pending damage assessments and restoration of electricity," Guilford said in an email Monday. "Obviously, no one can go to our largest supply points and our largest supply points can't be supplied by water, either."
"We have inland storage of heating oil, but can't legally use it for diesel generator use," said Guilford. "Our governor begs for patience on restoration of electricity to the 700,000 customers that lost power, utilities say it could take as long as a week for everyone to have electricity restored. Generators, therefore, are critical."
New York marketers are not reporting any issues, said Tom Peters, head of the Empire State Petroleum Association. "Everything appears to be back in operation here," he said in an email Monday.
