In the wake of July’s unscheduled shutdown of a BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana, resulting in an increase in gas prices in the region by as much as $1 per gallon, U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) introduced legislation this week that would expand the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) waiver power, authorizing the agency to permit retailers to buy and sell any fuel blends on the market during a supply disruption, thereby minimizing the risk of price spikes and protecting consumers.
“It’s unfair for hard-working families to constantly worry about unpredictable spikes each time they pull into the gas station,” Walorski said. “While we can’t prevent natural disasters or unforeseen disruptions like the emergency maintenance at Whiting, we can try and do everything in our power to mitigate the ripple effects to consumers by waiving fuel mandates to stabilize gas prices.”
The bill, titled the Gas Accessibility and Stabilization Act, would essentially help stabilize gas prices during periods of supply disruptions in the market by expanding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to waive fuel mandates. Currently, the EPA requires different blends of gasoline to be sold in different parts of the country, which can complicate the supply chain and drive up prices, when fuel quickly falls into short supply. This scenario is exactly what happened in Indiana this summer, when the BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana, the largest in the Midwest and seventh-largest in the country, shut down the largest of its three crude distillation units, causing gas prices to rise by as much as $1 in a matter of days across the region.
Walorski is a lifelong Hoosier, born and raised in South Bend, who has dedicated her career to helping Hoosier families. Walorski represents Indiana’s Second District in the U.S. House, where she serves on the Armed Services, Veterans’ Affairs and Agriculture Committees.