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Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Knoll, PEMA Council Back Governor's Efforts to Expedite Fuel Deliveries

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 April 2006, 12:01 CDT

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council is backing Governor Edward G. Rendell's decision to temporarily extend the amount of time truck drivers can spend on the road while delivering gasoline.

"We applaud the Governor's decision to temporarily waive the regulations that restrict commercial haulers from operating more than 11 hours," said Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll, who chairs the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council. "This approved three-hour extension compensates for the time truckers spend waiting in line for fuel, and it ensures the supply chain will continue to move to get gasoline supplies where they are needed most."

Governor Rendell extended work hours for commercial haulers on Friday, allowing those operating in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties to work 14 hours until midnight on Wednesday.

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council, which by law reviews the Governor's decision, unanimously supported his action.

Delays in fuel delivery and subsequent shortages have been caused because refineries have decided to make blended gasoline with ethanol, which requires infrastructure improvements to processing facilities. Refiners previously used the octane enhancer methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE). MTBE had constituted about 10 percent of gasoline.

Although the use of ethanol is considered more environmentally friendly, the upgrades to the infrastructure, combined with problems at refineries, have created a distribution bottleneck at many gasoline terminals in the southeast region of the Commonwealth.

On Friday, Governor Rendell also asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue a temporary waiver that would allow suppliers in the five- county Philadelphia area to sell fuel that does not meet federal Clean Air Act reformulated gasoline guidelines.

In addition, Gov. Rendell has called on President George W. Bush to act immediately to put an end to profiteering in fuel markets and tap oil companies' record-breaking profits to provide relief to consumers.

In 1999, U.S. oil refiners made 22.8 cents for every gallon of gasoline refined from crude oil. By 2004, they were making 40.8 cents for every gallon of gasoline refined, a 79 percent jump. Those profit margins soared even higher in 2005 to 99 cents on each gallon sold.

Gas prices in Pennsylvania have jumped about 100 percent in three years, from $1.51 in 2003 to $3 per gallon at gas stations across the state. The price increased a full 10 cents in one week from April 12-17, and then greater than 10 cents just last week as well.

In a letter to President Bush, Governor Rendell urged the White House to work with the U.S. Congress to establish a windfall oil profits tax and collect billions in oil royalty payments due the federal government by oil companies. These companies continue to bring in huge profits at the expense of the average American family and business.

In late 2005, six oil company executives testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in a review of fuel price spikes in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The companies -- ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, BP, Shell and Valero -- reported profits of $112 billion. Since President Bush took office, these companies have accumulated profits of $321 billion.

In January, ExxonMobil alone reported the largest annual profit in U.S. corporate history - a $36.1 billion jackpot that included a record-setting fourth quarter. Exxon earned $10.7 billion, or $116 million every 24 hours, in the final quarter of 2005. That final quarter followed immediately after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and it represented a 27 percent increase from the same period one year earlier.

In addition, because of flaws in federal contracts for access to federal lands, oil companies are now able to pump oil on these lands without making any royalty payments. The loss to the federal treasury of these forgone royalty payments is $65 billion.

Governor Rendell has launched some major initiatives to build a clean energy future in Pennsylvania. With $219,908 in state aid, the East Coast's first state-of-the-art biofuels injection facility opened last fall in Dauphin County. The plant will replace 3.2 million gallons of foreign oil with domestically produced biodiesel, and it will keep $6 million worth of energy dollars in Pennsylvania by reducing the state's need to purchase imported fuels.

Governor Rendell last year banned the purchase of conventional SUVs for the state vehicle fleet and is building on this initiative with a major effort to replace conventional vehicles with hybrid vehicles. In the coming fiscal year, the state will purchase 30 hybrids and set in motion a process to continually build on this commitment so that by 2011, fully 25 percent of the fleet will be hybrids.

For more information about Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll visit her Web site at http://www.ltgovernor.state.pa.us/ CONTACT: Johnna A. Pro (717) 783-4290 (717) 919-2502 (412) 519-8258 jpro@state.pa.us

Office of the Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor

CONTACT: Johnna A. Pro, Office of the Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor,+1-717-783-4290, +1-717-919-2502, +1-412-519-8258, or jpro@state.pa.us

Web site: http://www.state.pa.us/http://www.ltgovernor.state.pa.us/

Source: PRNewswire

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