Bush responds to rising gas prices
Posted: 01 May 2006
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As part of a four-part plan to tackle rising gas prices, President Bush has authorised EPA Administrator Steve Johnson to grant requests from local officials to waive local requirements for reformulated gasoline (RFG). Federal air qu ality regulations require some areas of the country to use RFG, a gasoline blended to burn cleaner emissions.
This year, RFG is transitioning the primary ingredient from MTBE to ethanol. Because Texas and some of the states in the Northeast are concerned about spiking gas prices due to shortages, EPA is expected to meet the request to waive local fuel requirements, at least temporarily. This action was also taken after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to increase the supply of gasoline and minimize potential gasoline supply disruptions and price increases.
Bush has also asked Johnson to reduce the number of loc alized fuel blends. Bush said in the plan that he wants to correct America's "uncoordinated and overly complex set of fuel mixes." This action will help reduce the risk of painful local price increases.
Finally, the president's plan calls for an increase in domestic oil refining capacity. To do this, Bush calls on Congress to speed up the permitting process for refinery construction and expansion. Specifically, Bush wants a guarantee that refinery construction permits be processed within 1 year. A new American refinery has not been built in 30 years and, according to the president, part of the reason for this is that the refinery permitting process is too complicated.
Posted by Editor Pipeline Magazine
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