EPA move aimed at boosting gas supplies

Ormond Beach Observer

The U.S. Department of Environmental Protection on Friday issued a waiver to give the fuel industry more flexibility, as flooding in South Florida has helped increase the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the state by 15 cents since Monday.

But state Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson said the waiver needs to be expanded.

The federal approval --- directed at Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties --- extends the use of winter gasoline beyond May 1, when the EPA requires the industry to switch to a summer blend.

The waiver will be in place through May 20.

“EPA has concluded … that it is necessary to waive certain federal fuel standards under the (Clean Air Act) to minimize or prevent the disruption of an adequate supply of gasoline to consumers in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties in Southeast Florida,”

EPA Administrator Michael Regan wrote in a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“This waiver only applies to the federal fuel standards.” Simpson called the waiver a “good step” but said it “falls short of the state’s request to waive the requirement in counties where key ports and transportation routes” are located.

“Floridians need fuel now, and expanding the waiver to all of the counties we requested will bring relief to South Florida and head off potential fuel disruptions in other areas of our state,” Simpson wrote.

The AAA auto club reported Friday morning that the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Florida was $3.72, four cents higher than the national average.

The average price in the Fort Lauderdale area was $3.67, while the average was $3.75 in the Miami area and $3.88 in the West Palm Beach area.