The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Wednesday temporarily waive federal clean diesel fuel requirements in New Jersey to allow the use of home heating oil in most generators and pumps in emergency service in New Jersey.
Separately, EPA temporarily waived clean gasoline requirements in 16 Eastern states and the District of Columbia that were affected by Sandy’s wide-reaching damage.
The waiver allows sale and distribution of conventional gasoline in Eastern states that are required to use reformulated gasoline and allows a number of additional states to mix reformulated gasoline and conventional gasoline, in an effort to remove potential barriers to regional gasoline supplies.
The diesel waiver was granted by EPA and the Department of Energy, following the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall Monday night near Atlantic City.
EPA said “extreme and unusual supply circumstances exist” that could result in a temporary shortage of diesel fuel compliant with federal regulations. The waivers will help ensure an adequate supply of fuel for emergency response in New Jersey, the agency said.
The waiver temporarily allows the use of heating oil in emergency generators and pumps if ultra low-sulfur fuel is not available. EPA said the waiver will not apply to a small subset of diesel engines used in generators and pumps that could be damaged by the high-sulfur content diesel fuel.
