By Staff
LANSING - Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm Wednesday declared an energy emergency in Michigan and signed three executive orders to temporarily suspend state laws that restrict the supply of gasoline.
The move comes one day after the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) asked the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a waiver to lift the requirement for use of low "Reid Vapor Pressure" (RVP) gasoline in southeast Michigan.
Granholm said that Executive Orders 2005-16, 2005-17 and 2005-18 will allow for the temporary suspension of the rules regulating use of RVP gasoline and restricting the hours when tanker trucks can be on the road.
She also said that the emergency order will provide the state with flexibility to meet any additional problems that arise in coming days.
The emergency order will remain in effect for 90 days or until it is rescinded by executive order.
The EPA waiver will allow for additional supply to be transported in the seven counties of southeast Michigan to insure that there are no localized shortages as a result of hard-to-find RVP gasoline.
The waiver will be in effect for seven days.
A similar waiver and state of emergency occurred during the blackout in August 2003.
"We continue to monitor the situation on the Gulf Coast and have been in contact with the governors' offices, law enforcement and relief agencies to determine how we can help," Granholm said.
Granholm said that although the state has not yet received a formal request for help, the Michigan State Police is coordinating volunteer efforts on behalf of the state of Michigan.
She said specific requests from state governors or through the Federal Emergency Management Agency are expected in the next few days, and she encouraged anyone interested in contributing to relief efforts to visit the state's Web page at www.michigan.gov or the American Red Cross for recommendations on the best ways to get involved.
The governor also addressed the issue of gouging directly.
Granholm also welcomed the news that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a regional waiver for truckers transporting petroleum products in the Midwest Region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin) and that the EPA has issued a fuel waiver for RVP for all 50 states.
In addition, Wednesday morning President Bush indicated that he would allow the opening of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to allow oil to flow to refineries to increase supply of gasoline in the nationwide market. All of these actions should help increase gasoline supply in the United States and in Michigan.