Gov. Robert Ehrlich is taking action to avoid the possibility of any spot gas shortages in the state.
Ehrlich has written to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asking it to temporarily waive the requirement for the use of reformulated gas ? which produces 15 percent to 17 percent less pollution than conventional gas ? in an attempt to cut off any potential gas shortages.
If Ehrlich?s request is granted, gas stations in the Greater Baltimore region will be able to sell conventional gas until May 24.
“I am seeking a federal waiver as a precautionary step to ease the rise in gasoline prices and to help ensure that Marylanders have access to adequate supplies of gasoline,” Ehrlich wrote.
He added that a waiver in the urban areas of the state will allow refineries, terminals and distributors the flexibility to provide more fuels to suppliers and ultimately the consumer.
Ehrlich?s action comes a day after Baltimore Mayor Martin O?Malley said the governor shared some of the blame for the increasing costs at the gas pump.
The governor?s spokesman dismissed O?Malley?s assertion as “absolutely ridiculous.”
On Saturday, Ehrlich directed the Department of Transportation to provide truck drivers delivering gasoline with an exemption from hours-of-service limitations to ensure that gas stations get their deliveries.
The governor also requested a waiver from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for a regional exemption from hours of service limitations to create a uniform driver hour restriction in the mid-Atlantic to ensure on-time fuel deliveries.
Finally, Ehrlich authorized Attorney General Joseph Curran to continue investigating potential instances of price-gouging in Maryland and has made the Ehrlich administration?s resources available. The state has no price-gouging bill on the books. Without such a law, the state must prove oil companies are price-fixing under the Antitrust Act and Maryland?s Consumer Protection Act.
Meanwhile, the governor?s press office warned that consumers may see some gas stations temporarily close to clean their tanks to prepare for the planned transition from MTBE to ethanol as the additive to gasoline.
“While they may pose a short-term inconvenience to drivers, they do not indicate a gasoline supply shortage,” the statement said.
