EPA allows gas with ethanol, Guam AG calls for roundtable on fuel supply and price
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Energy and in accordance with the Clean Air Act, issued a temporary emergency fuel waiver to allow nationwide sales of E15, gasoline blended with 15% ethanol, and to remove all federal impediments to selling E10, gasoline blended with 10% ethanol, across the country.
“Through the waiver, EPA is fortifying the domestic gasoline supply chain and providing Americans relief at the pumps ahead of the summer driving season,” the agency said. EPA’s waivers will work to prevent disruption in America’s fuel supply by keeping E15 on the market and giving Americans more fuel options, EPA said.
Oil tanks at the Port of Guam. Photo from Journal files
The waiver’s take effect May 1. “EPA is issuing the waiver notice to allow fuel industry stakeholders adequate time to transition the fuel distribution system. As required by the CAA, EPA and DOE evaluated the current situation and determined that granting the waiver was in the public interest,” the agency said.
While the move is beneficial for the gasoline supply chain, ethanol is usually not allowed in the U.S. summer months, as the move may increase summer smog and ozone issues, as well as effect water quality from runoff.
Douglas C. Moylan, Guam’s attorney general, said after talking with two of Guam’s petroleum companies, he and his legal team are very concerned about Guam’s supply and “quickly rising fuel prices (affordability).”
Moylan called for a roundtable at the Guam Legislature, to include participation by the Guam Power Authority and James C. Moylan, Guam’s delegate to Congress. Of the three petroleum companies headquartered in Guam, Mobil Oil and Shell do business throughout Micronesia. mbj
The final defendants were sentenced for their roles in conspiring to defraud the Aloha Shriners of the proceeds of an illegal gambling operation involving the Guam Shrine Club and its Hafa Adai Bingo parlor in Tamuning, according to a May 21 release from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
InfraTech International LLC was awarded May 15 CHamoru Standard Time a $100 million “firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity construction contract,” according to a release from the U.S. Department of War.
The Guam Visitors Bureau has committed $2 million to a comprehensive response plan designed to mitigate the impact of surging jet fuel prices, which have tripled fuel surcharges and led to a 20% reduction in airline seat capacity.
