By Daniel Stefanski |
As Arizonans continue to pay high prices at the gas pumps, a recent revelation exposes a possible contributing factor from the state’s chief executive.
On Monday, the Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Study Committee on Air Quality and Energy issued a press release after a hearing with Michelle Wilson, the Regulatory Compliance Administrator for the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures, publicizing that Wilson “admitted the Hobbs Administration was passive when oil companies in March warned of refinery shutdowns.” The Committee added that “according to Wilson, for the first time in five years, the Governor’s office received a request from refineries to ask the EPA for a waiver, allowing for an alternative fuel type to provide an adequate supply for drivers and preventing a hike in gas prices” – yet after the Governor’s Office “had conversations with the EPA about submitting a request for a waiver,…the EPA convinced Hobbs to not submit one.”
According to Senate Republicans, “this catastrophe reduced the supply of the type of gasoline drivers in Maricopa County are required to fill their tanks with, known as ‘Cleaner Burn Gas’ (CBG), in order for Arizona to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Act requirements.”
“Rather than making a case on behalf of Arizonans struggling to fill their tanks with prices hitting $5 per gallon, Governor Hobbs chose to not push back against the EPA and was complicit with the Biden Administration’s pro-inflation, radical environmentalist agenda,” said Senator Sine Kerr, the Committee’s co-chair. “As a result of Hobbs’ inaction, Maricopa County drivers were forced to shell out an extra several hundred million dollars just to get to their destinations during this supply disruption.”
“It’s clear Governor Hobbs is taking her marching orders from the federal government, instead of serving the best interests of our citizens,” said Senator Frank Carroll, a member of the committee. “While Republicans were securing a tax rebate to give $260 million dollars back to Arizona families hurting from historic price hikes, the Governor sat on her hands and cost families at least half that amount at the pump. We plan to analyze potential changes to policy to protect Arizonans from these irresponsible actions by the Executive Branch and reckless big government overreach.”
In the leadup to the hearing, legislative Republicans signaled they sought to investigate “the driving force behind (Arizonans’) pain at the pump and how to provide relief to motorists.” They promised to “analyze one of the contributing factors pushing Arizona’s gas prices to level higher than the national average, which is the unique blend of gasoline required by state law since 1997 called ‘Cleaner Burning Gasoline.’”
This isn’t the first time Hobbs has taken political heat for her actions (or lack thereof) on this issue. Earlier this year, Senator Jake Hoffman unleashed a blistering rebuke of Hobbs’ reported failure “to do the right thing by requesting this waiver to allow prices at the pump to drop.” Hoffman’s statement followed accounts of a letter that had been sent to Hobbs in March by independent petroleum refiner HF Sinclair, warning the state’s chief executive “of a critical supply shortage in Arizona due to an unexpected equipment failure stopping the production of ‘Cleaner Burning Gasoline’ (CBG) required by the Biden Administration in Maricopa County, as well as parts of Pinal and Yavapai Counties.”
Per Senator Hoffman’s release, HF Sinclair had argued that Hobbs would be within her right to seek the waiver from the EPA, writing, “Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 7545(c)(4)(C)(ii), EPA may temporarily waive a control or prohibition respecting the use of a fuel when extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances prevent the distribution of an adequate supply to consumers. EPA may grant such a waiver where such circumstances are the result of a natural disaster, Act of God, refinery equipment failure, or another event that could not reasonably have been foreseen or prevented, and where doing so would be in the public interest (e.g., when a waiver is necessary to meet projected temporary shortfalls in fuel supply in a state or region). Such circumstances presently exist in Arizona.”
In his June release, Hoffman said, “Katie Hobbs’ incompetence as Arizona’s Governor continues to take center stage, and hardworking Arizonans are paying the price for it. The average price for a gallon of gas right now in Maricopa County is a full $1 higher than the national average. This is extra money that could help with groceries, medications and other necessities many of our taxpayers are having a difficult time affording because of the Biden Administration’s reckless policies leading to historic inflation.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
