Report Cites Shortage of Cleaner-Burning Fuel

A federal report blamed the summer’s high gasoline prices in the Chicago-Milwaukee area on short supplies of a new, cleaner-burning gas and said the price fluctuations could continue in future summers. The report, issued by the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration, validates the petroleum industry’s position that it was not at fault for the rising prices, said Erin Roth, executive director of the Wisconsin Petroleum Council. But an official at the Environmental Protection Agency called the report subjective. Robert Perciasepe, the EPA’s top air-quality official, continued to blame the oil industry for the price hikes. Gas prices in the Milwaukee and Chicago areas increased 40% in May and June, when the federal Clean Air Act mandated a new type of gas to combat air pollution. Prices at one point topped $2 a gallon but have since decreased. The report cited high crude oil prices, pipeline problems and a special ethanol-blended gasoline used primarily in the Midwest for the regional shortage. Perciasepe said the report does not explain why the refineries couldn’t make enough gas, even though they knew of the new requirement for years. Of eight refineries serving the Chicago-Milwaukee market, half increased production and half decreased production levels in May and June, the report said.