EPA pauses gasoline rules for Colonial outage: Update

Adds state actions.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today waived for a week tougher summer gasoline requirements in three states and the District of Columbia.

The emergency fuel waiver is intended to help ease supply shortages caused by the ongoing outage of the Colonial Pipeline system, the agency said.

Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) requirements in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia were waived through 18 May.

The US requires lower RVP gasoline in summer months to reduce fuel evaporation and associated smog. Transitions to lower-RVP fuel begin in April and finish at the retailer level by June. Easing those requirements allow urban areas with tougher standards to draw from higher RVP supplies.

Virginia declared a state of emergency to allow additional state waivers on top of the federal action.

"This emergency declaration will help the Commonwealth prepare for any potential supply shortages and ensure Virginia motorists have access to fuel as we respond to this evolving situation," governor Ralph Northam said.

Maryland governor Larry Hogan said the state was "prepared for all contingencies" as the outage continued.

Colonial shut down its 5,500-mile (8,851km) pipeline network to mitigate a ransomware attack disrupting a system it estimates supplies nearly half of the fuel consumed on the US Atlantic coast. The pipeline operator has restored some service and plans to restore full operations by the end of the week, but the largest segments of the pipeline remain offline.

By Elliott Blackburn