WASHINGTON - In response to the major disruptions to the fuel supply chain caused by Hurricane Harvey, EPA has issued two emergency fuels waivers. On August 25, EPA waived Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP), Reformulated Gasoline (RFG), and Texas Low Emission Diesel (TxLED) requirements for certain counties covered by Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Disaster Proclamation. The request was made by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on behalf of Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
TCEQ then sent a second request on August 26 to expand the scope of the waiver to include the Dallas-Fort Worth RFG area, the 98 counties required to use low RVP fuel, and the 110 counties required to use TxLED. Administrator Pruitt granted this request with a few additions (including the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area under the RFG waiver) on August 26, 2017. The RFG, RVP, and TxLED waivers are in effect until September 15. Additional information regarding the fuel waivers and the affected areas is available HERE and listed below.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also issued a Regional Emergency Declaration for Texas and Louisiana and exempted drivers from certain requirements under parts 390-399 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). Specifically, drivers providing “direct assistance” to the emergency have been granted relief from parts of the FMCSRs, including hours of service (HOS) limitations and overweight restrictions.
In addition, on August 26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that retail food stores licensed to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, commonly referred to as food stamps, may allow customers to use SNAP benefits to pay for hot foods, as well as foods intended to be eaten on the retailer’s premises. USDA’s special rules will be effective through September 30—and per USDA’s suggestion, all SNAP authorized retail food stores in Texas are encouraged to post an in-store notice informing SNAP customers they may use their benefits to purchase hot foods. During this window, hot food purchases made with SNAP cards will not be subject to sales tax.
On August 28, EPA issued an emergency waiver of the Reid Vapor Pressure requirements for the following parishes: Beauregard, Calcasieu, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Orleans, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. Mary, and the 5 parishes of the Baton Rouge area (Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Livingston, and West Baton Rouge), through September 15, 2017.
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The Dallas-Fort Worth RFG area consists of Collins, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties.
The following 98 counties are required to use low-RVP fuel: Anderson, Angelina, Aransas, Atascosa, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Bell, Bexar, Bosque, Bowie, Brazos, Burleson, Caldwell, Calhoun, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Colorado, Comal, Cooke, Coryell, De Witt, Delta, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Fayette, Franklin, Freestone, Goliad, Gonzales, Grayson, Gregg, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harrison, Hays, Henderson, Hill, Hood, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Karnes, Kaufman, Lamar, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Live Oak, Madison, Marion, Matagorda, McLennan, Milam, Morris, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Nueces, Orange, Panola, Parker, Polk, Rains, Red River, Refugio, Robertson, Rockwall, Rusk, Sabine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, San Augustine, Shelby, Judge Smith, Somervell, Titus, Travis, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker, Washington, Wharton, Williamson, Wilson, Wise, and Wood Counties.
The “TxLED Counties” are as follows: The Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area (the counties of Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller); the Beaumont-Port Arthur area (the counties of Hardin, Jefferson and Orange); the Dallas-Fort Worth area (the counties of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Tarrant, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker and Rockwall); and the counties of Anderson, Angelina, Aransas, Atascosa, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Bell , Bexar, Bosque, Bowie, Brazos, Burleson, Caldwell, Calhoun, Camp. Cass, Cherokee, Colorado, Comal, Cooke, Coryell , De Witt, Delta, Falls, Fannin, Fayette, Franklin, Freestone, Goliad, Gonzales, Grayson, Gregg, Grimes, Guadalupe, Harrison, Hays, Henderson, Hill, Hood, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Jackson, Jasper, Kames, Lamar, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Live Oak, Madison, Marion, Matagorda, McLennan, Milam, Morris, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Nueces, Panola, Polk, Rains, Red River, Refugio, Robertson, Rusk, Sabine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Somervell, Titus, Travis, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker, Washington, Wharton, Williamson, Wilson, Wise and Wood.