Press Releases

BATON ROUGE, LA – U.S. Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) is requesting immediate assistance to relieve fuel supply shortages in Louisiana and other areas of the Gulf Coast that were just hit by Hurricane Ida.

Full text of the letter can be found below.

Dear Secretary Granholm and Administrator Regan:

I am writing to request your immediate assistance to relieve fuel supply shortages in Louisiana and other areas of the Gulf Coast that were just hit by Hurricane Ida, one of the most powerful storms in United States history. Recorded wind speeds reached nearly Category five status, and storm surge devastated our coastal communities. Resulting fuel shortages exist now and are likely to persist.

Our state is currently experiencing widespread electricity outages, inoperable cellular networks, severed internet connections, disabled water and sewer systems, and fuel shortages that have reached critical levels. The people of Louisiana are literally in the dark without electricity, or they are relying on scarce fuel supplies to power backup generators.

Among the challenges contributing to fuel shortages are:

1) fallen transmission lines across the Mississippi River, blocking maritime access to many of our refineries;

2) refineries unable to produce due to lack of electrical power system;

3) potential shortages of nitrogen and other resources required for refining;

4) service stations lacking electricity to power pumps;

5) supply disruption due to the shutdown of upstream production facilities;

6) and changes in demand due to the widespread use of generators to replace electric grid power.

In light of this emergency, it is imperative that the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency act as soon as possible. I strongly urge you to consider authorizing the release of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and to temporarily provide refiners relief from the Renewable Identification Number required by the Renewable Fuel Standard.

I stand ready to assist this Administration and appreciate your careful consideration of this request.

###