Michigan Recieves Emergency Waiver To Help With Surging Gas Prices

If you're like me, you've probably already noticed how the prices have been rising at an insane rate here in Michigan. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an emergency fuel waiver for Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois in response to a significant refinery outage in Illinois.

This decision follows requests from the governors of these states, including Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, Indiana’s Eric Holcomb, Illinois’ JB Pritzker, and Wisconsin’s Tony Evers.

The trouble started in mid-July when tornadoes struck the area, forcing the shutdown of an ExxonMobil refinery in Joliet, Illinois. This refinery, which produces about 251,800 barrels of fuel per day, is a major player in the region’s fuel supply. With the refinery offline, gas prices in these states have been climbing.

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To address this issue, the EPA, working closely with the Department of Energy, issued the emergency waiver to help keep the fuel supply flowing. The waiver temporarily relaxes certain fuel requirements, allowing more flexibility in sourcing fuel until the refinery is back up and running.

According to the EPA, these waivers are crucial for ensuring that residents of the affected states have access to the fuel they need, especially as prices at the pump continue to rise. This quick action highlights the importance of government intervention when critical infrastructure is disrupted.

So while gas prices may not drop significantly, we can hope to at least stave off more of a rise thanks to these vouchers. Here's hoping things get back to normal sooner rather than later with the refinery in Joliet.