LANSING, Mich. – Recently, there was a problem at an oil refinery in Illinois. On Wednesday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer took action to protect Michigan residents from possible fuel and gas supply delays.
As a safety step, the governor says she wrote to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and asked for an emergency fuel waiver.
This waiver will make more fuel available and keep prices stable during the refinery outage, the ongoing hurricane season, and as people in Michigan continue to enjoy their summer vacation plans.
Governor Whitmer said, “Today I’m taking steps to help protect Michiganders from disruptions in the fuel supply.” “With hurricane season in full swing and an Illinois refinery going down, we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect Michiganders’ ability to get fuel for their cars, homes, and businesses right away.” That’s why I’m committed to working with the EPA to make sure that Michiganders can always get fuel and that it stays affordable by temporarily removing barriers to make sure there is a steady flow of fuel. Let’s do it together.
The Illinois-based ExxonMobil Joliet Refinery shut down without warning this summer because of bad weather. The power outage is expected to last into August. The hurricane season in 2024 is expected to be very bad, which could put at risk more fuel transport from the Gulf area.
