FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Chambliss, Isakson Urge EPA to Support Governor Perdue’s Request to Provide Relief from Gas Shortage

WASHINGTON – To help ease the gas shortage in Georgia, U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in support of Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue’s request to temporarily extend relief from the federally enforceable sulfur gasoline requirements in the 45-county fuel control area.

“Extending relief from this requirement in the short term will make more gas available in the fuel control area until supplies can be replenished,” said Chambliss. “I applaud Governor Perdue’s leadership in this matter and Senator Isakson and I urge the EPA to honor his request so that we can provide relief to our constituents.”

“With the decrease in supplies of gasoline due to recent hurricanes, it is absolutely critical to temporarily extend relief from the sulfur gasoline requirement until supplies are back to normal,” Isakson said. “I fully support the Governor’s request, and I hope EPA will act on this request quickly.”

Text of the letter is below:

Mr. Stephen Johnson, Administrator
United States Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20460

Dear Administrator Johnson:

We are writing in support of Governor Sonny Perdue's request for an extension to relief provided from the federally enforceable Georgia SIP sulfur gasoline requirements in the 45 county fuel control area. As you know, this request comes as a result of a severe shortage of Georgia SIP sulfur gasoline caused by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

We urge your immediate approval of Governor Perdue's request and ask that, should the Governor need to make additional requests, you act upon them as expeditiously as possible.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter and we stand ready to assist you in any way we can.

Sincerely,
Saxby Chambliss
Johnny Isakson

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