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Vogel Bill To End Summer Gasoline In Pittsburgh At Some Point, Goes To Governor

The Senate concurred in House amendments to Senate Bill 1037 (Vogel-R-Beaver) whose intent is to repeal the requirement for summer low-RVP gasoline in seven Western Pennsylvania counties from May 1 to September 15.  The bill now goes to the Governor for his action.

The counties include Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland.

The bill requires the Department of Environmental Protection to start the process for amending the State Air Quality Implementation Plan within 60 days of the effective date of the act.  Once the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approves the amended SIP, the bill directs the Environmental Quality Board to adopt a regulation eliminating the low-RVP gasoline requirement in Western Pennsylvania.

There is no set schedule for EPA to consider SIP amendments and it may take up to 18 additional months to adopt regulations after EPA approval to eliminate the summer gasoline requirement so it may take some time before any changes can be made.

“I appreciate the support of my colleagues in the Senate and House for this bill that will eliminate an unfair and costly regulation on the people of western Pennsylvania,” said Sen. Elder Vogel (R-Beaver), prime sponsor of the bill. “Basically, the RVP regulation is nothing more than a hidden tax, not only at the pump but also on goods and services. Currently, the people in a seven-county area of western Pennsylvania are forced to pay at least 10 to 15 cents more per gallon for gas than those in neighboring counties and just across the border in Ohio.”

NewsClips:

Dumping Summer Gasoline In Pittsburgh By 2015 Unrealistic

42 Million Gallons Of Gasoline In NE To Aid In Crisis


5/12/2014

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