DEP, Allegheny County Saving Drivers As Much As $32.3 Million Annually By Eliminating Special Low-RVP Gasoline In Western PA

On July 5, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officially published notice in the Federal Register eliminating the low-RVP gasoline requirement in Allegheny County, the last of the counties in Western Pennsylvania where the special summer gasoline was required.

The same request for the other counties in the region from the Department of Environmental Protection was approved by EPA in December.

Since 1999, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties were required to use low-RVP gasoline from May through September, routinely raising gasoline prices.

DEP estimated there are about 352 million gallons of gasoline sold in the 7 county area from May to September.  DEP estimated the cost savings from eliminating the low-RVP gasoline requirement would be from 1.6 to 9.2 cents per gallon.

Other estimates put the cost difference in the price of the special gasoline in the affected area at 10 to 15 cents per gallon higher than surrounding areas.

At a minimum, the action taken by DEP and Allegheny County will save drivers in these 7 counties from $5.6 million to $32.2 million annually, but probably trending to the higher number based on market conditions.

The low-RVP gasoline requirement was eliminated because there was no longer a significant environmental benefit to air quality in the region primarily due to vehicle fleet turnover to cleaner cars since 1999.