The US Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday issued a temporary waiver to 16 states plus the District of Columbia to allow for the use of conventional gasoline in areas where reformulated gasoline is usually required.
The waiver allows the use of non-RFG gasoline until November 20 because of temporary supply disruptions cased by Hurricane Sandy, the EPA said.
"Widespread power outages and flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy have resulted in significant damage to petroleum storage facilities in the affected areas," EPA administrator Lisa Jackson said in a letter sent to governors and mayors. "This damage, and the related impact on petroleum pipeline operations, affects the petroleum distribution system in the affected areas and is projected to prevent the distribution of adequate supplies of RFG throughout the designated RFG covered areas over the next several days."
The waiver allows the use of conventional gasoline in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
In addition, the EPA said it will allow the blending of RFG with conventional gasoline to prevent shortages in the RFG-covered states, plus Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina.
