California Facing $5 Gasoline Stirs Brown to Relax Rules

[ALS]

The change may increase California’s fuel supply by 8 percent to 10 percent with only a “negligible” impact on air quality, Brown said.

Michael B. Marois And Lynn Doan - BLOOMBERG - October 8, 2012

Gasoline closing in on a record $5 a gallon prompted Governor Jerry Brown to direct California regulators to relax smog controls so oil refineries could increase supplies of cheaper fuel.

Regular gasoline in California surged to an average $4.668 a gallon, 22 percent higher than the U.S. average, according to data today from AAA, the nation’s largest motoring organization. Some stations were charging as much as $5.89 in the Big Sur area, according to GasBuddy.com.

The California Air Resources Board yesterday granted refineries permission to make an early shift to winter-blend gasoline, typically not sold until after Oct. 31. Due to the composition of the gasoline, refiners can produce more of the winter blend than the summer blend.... [Read More]

[brick]

Their whole boutique fuel thing is silly, anyway. A modern car with an intact & functioning emissions system doesn't need any of the special "smog reducing" garbage in fuel to keep the air clean. The whole concept is totally out-dated.