New Jersey gets diesel waiver to avoid shortfall after Sandy

People line up for gasoline outside the entrance of Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, New Jersey, October 31, 2012.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday granted New Jersey a temporary waiver on Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) requirements to help counter a shortfall in fuel supplies in parts of the state following Hurricane Sandy.

The waiver allows for the sale of diesel fuel that exceeds standards of 15 parts per million of sulfur under limited conditions effective immediately, according to a letter from EPA administrator Lisa Jackson to Governor Chris Christie.

The waiver -- which the letter said aimed to "minimize or prevent disruption of the supply of diesel in New Jersey" -- extends for sales through November 13.

The EPA determined that an "extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstance" that would limit supplies of ULSD that can be used in mobile nonroad generators and pumps used for emergencies.

Stockpiles of ULSD in the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes New Jersey, dropped more than 25 percent in the week to October 19, compared with the year-ago level, according to U.S. government data.

To view a copy of the letter, see:

here

(Reporting by Matthew Robinson; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Marguerita Choy)