Illinois EPA Grants Provisional Variance in Response to Nationwide Disruptions to Gasoline Supply

Variance Issued to ExxonMobil Joliet Refinery for Barge Loading Operations

Press Release from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

 Springfield, IL — The Illinois EPA has granted a provisional variance to ExxonMobil Oil Corporation Joliet Refinery to allow the loading of gasoline onto barges at the Joliet refinery wharf loading facility without the required vapor control system. The variance will provide temporary relief to better meet the need for motor fuels that has been disrupted following Hurricane Harvey. The variance follows a federal fuel waiver that was issued by U.S. EPA on August 31. A similar variance was granted following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The Joliet Refinery’s barge loading operations for gasoline are covered by a Construction Permit issued by Illinois EPA. The permit includes the installation of a vapor control unit. The request for variance is to allow the refinery to provide a higher volume of gasoline to meet the short-term, emergency fuel demands by loading gasoline without the vapor control unit. ExxonMobil will resume operations with the vapor control unit once the special need has been met.

Regulatory relief requested by ExxonMobil is intended to provide a higher volume loading of gasoline for delivery to communities where primary sources of gasoline supply have been disrupted following the catastrophic events that have occurred as a result of Hurricane Harvey. Relief is granted until such a time as relief barge loading operations have concluded or September 22, 2017, whichever occurs first.