The Environmental Protection Agency issued a temporary waiver Friday under the Clean Air Act for using diesel with higher sulfur levels above the Arctic Circle in Alaska. In a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the 20-day waiver was meant to address fuel supply disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East.
“It is in the public interest to take action to address the extreme and unusual supply circumstances that prevent distribution of an adequate supply,” Zeldin wrote in the letter.
The Clean Air Act requires the use of cleaner burning ultra-low-sulfur fuel in highway and non-road vehicles and equipment. The fuel produces fewer emissions and does not damage modern engines.
Zeldin said much of the equipment used above the Arctic Circle still has engines designed for high-sulfur diesel. He said that some North Slope topping refineries, which separate diesel from crude oil and produce heating oil, can produce high-sulfur diesel to power that machinery, which could reduce the demand for diesel hauled into the region.
“Alaskans will no longer be forced to unnecessarily truck their fuel hundreds of miles across the state, and Alaskan families will feel lower prices at the pump,” Zeldin said in a prepared statement.
Fuel prices began to rise again earlier this month after the collapse of the ceasefire with Iran, with NPR reporting that prices were 86 cents higher per gallon than they were before the war. A new U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz means prices could climb even higher.
Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit said during a roundtable in Anchorage that the waiver will allow for the production of tens of thousands more barrels of diesel.
“These topping units that have been restricted from an emission standpoint can now run at a higher output capacity,” Haustveit said. “It's going to bring more supply to market.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan applauded the waiver and said he had advocated for it to lower fuel prices. He said in a press release that the action will allow North Slope producers to put idle refining capacity to work.
“Global fuel supply disruptions have been a significant challenge for Alaska communities, resulting in rising fuel prices,” Sen. Sullivan said in a prepared statement.
He said he measure “frees up Alaska-produced fuel to help put downward pressure on prices for hard-working Alaskans.”
The waiver is limited to highway and non-road vehicles and non-road equipment certified to operate on high-sulfur diesel fuel. It applies only above the Arctic Circle.
