NJ senators thank EPA for easing fuel shipping rules to aid storm recovery

New Jersey Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D) and Robert Menendez (D) applauded the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for expediting delivery of fuel to their state, after Hurricane Sandy heavily hit the region.

“The fuel shortage and power outages at gas stations are holding our state back from a full recovery,” the senators said Tuesday in a statement. “We will continue working to do everything possible to get our first responders and all New Jerseyans moving again.”

Earlier in the week, the senators asked EPA administrator Lisa Jackson to temporarily ease biofuel delivery rules at East Coast shipping facilities in order to relieve the fuel shortage caused by Superstorm Sandy.

“We need to get fuel flowing into New Jersey, and the EPA’s decision to allow fuel to be rerouted to New Jersey is an important step toward getting our state moving again,” Lautenberg and Menendez said.

The storm damaged fuel terminals in New Jersey, causing a fuel shortage. The EPA decision allows fuel to be transported by train to neighboring states that can then be shipped to New Jersey.

---