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25 August 2003
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Phoenix Gas Crisis -- Good Intentions Gone Bad
No red-blooded American can bear the thought of gasoline at $3.00 a gallon. According to the American Automobile Association, though, at least one gas station in Phoenix, Arizona, was charging an almost European $3.89. The reason is a combination of bad luck, bureaucratic laziness, and possibly greed. Then again, it might just be an illustration of the law of unintended consequences.
Phoenix is a growing city ranking ninth in population in the US. Its climate this time of year is hot, hot and hot, yet mercifully dry. It also relies on automobiles and has almost no public transportation. It sits in a valley, which causes pollutants to build up in the air from time to time. And it has no oil refineries nearby, relying on two pipelines for its gasoline deliveries.
To deal with the smog that summer weather patterns create, the federal government's Environmental Protection Agency has decreed that Phoenix gas stations must sell gas with methyl-tertiary-butyl ether known as "Phoenix Blend." Arizona politicians are trying to get rid of that requirement, but so far it has stood.
So, when a pipeline broke, reducing daily deliveries by 30%, much of the gas that could have been brought in by truck wasn't Phoenix blend, meaning replacement supplies were harder to come by. The solution? Have the EPA waive the requirement. The problem? Took 11 days to do that.
In this mess, everyone acted with the best of intentions. Keeping the air clean is important to a place many used to visit to shake the symptoms of asthma. Refineries are smelly, ugly things so keeping them out is pleasing as well. Pipelines are preferable to truck deliveries for many reasons. And all of this has combined to create gas lines that America hasn't seen in a quarter of a century.
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