Document jBqevBbn4YG2Zp4xvqaoYyZkO

'Roy Cooper (governor Office of tfie ovemor State of North CaroCina 20301 M ail'Service Center :Ruieigii, M C. 27699-0301 August 30, 2017 The Hon. Scott Pruitt, Administrator U.S, Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, MW Washington, D.C. 20460 Dear Administrator Pruitt: As you are aware, the aftereffects of Hurricane Harvey pose potentially crippling effects not oniy to the regions in its path but aiso the economy of the entire Southeastern United States. As oil refiners and pipelines are paused or even shut down due to flooding, the operation of oil and gasoline refineries and flow of products to states in the region is imperiled. To alleviate the pressure on North Carolina's and the region's supply and to optimize access to gasoline and make it readily available, I am writing to request that you issue two waivers for our state and region. First, we ask ERA to issue a regional waiver of the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) regulations, of 40 C.F.R. 80.27(a)(2) that requires 9.0 pounds per square inch (psi) RVP gasoline during the summer fuel season, This waiver would enable industry to supply gasoline with a psi of 11.5# rather than the 9.0# psi gasoline that is required by ERA in most areas of the southeastern United States. In North Carolina, this requirement makes its usuai seasonal adjustment on September 16th, so this request covers the period from today until that date. Second, we ask EPA to issue a waiver of Reformulated Gasoline regulations so that Conventional Blendstocks can be co-mingled with Reformulated Blendstocks in states where RFC is required. This waiver of the requirement of 40 C.F.R. 80.78(a)(7) would allow for more types of fuels to be imported into the region, Improving the ability of the state to receive shipments from a diverse set of suppliers. This request meets the waiver requirements of Clean Air Act section 211(c)(3)(C)(ii) as an extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstance exists and the expected fuel supply interruptions are the result of a natural disaster that could not reasonably have been foreseen or prevented and not the result of the lack of prudent planning, The granting of this waiver is in the public interest as an adequate supply of fuels is an important concern to the general public. Locatimi: The State CapitoCOEuing, 'Rafeih, M. C. 2760z Tfume: 919-814-2100 Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 10 ED 002061 00064419-00001 The Hon. Scott Pruitt August 30, 2017 Page 2 Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler has authorized a state-level waiver regarding this issue for North Carolina and co-signs this request to you. Thank you for your assistance in this matter of great importance to our state and region. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions. Sincerely, Roy Cooper Governor Steven W. Troxler Commissioner of Agriculture cc: Trey Glenn, USEPA Region IV Administrator Sarah Dunham, USEPA Acting Assistant Administrator for OAR Larry Starfield, USEPA Acting Assistant Administrator for OECA Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 10 ED 002061 00064419-00002