Gas Waiver Expected To Ease Prices

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration is temporarily waiving clean gas requirements in eight states affected by Hurricane Isaac.

Governors requested the waiver because fuel supplies from refineries in the Gulf area were disrupted by Isaac. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson says extreme circumstances could cause a gas shortage.

The waiver lets gas stations sell less environmentally friendly fuel, normally reserved for winter, in addition to the regular fuel they normally sell during summer, when ozone levels are higher. It covers Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina.

A temporary waiver issued last week only applied to parts of Louisiana.

Oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is ramping up after Isaac. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Tuesday only 3.5 percent of Gulf oil platforms remain evacuated.