Jon S. Corzine: “Mr. President, New Jersey is the largest user of reformulated gasoline in the Northeast. Hess--through the Port Reading…”

“Mr. President, New Jersey is the largest user of reformulated gasoline in the Northeast. Hess--through the Port Reading and Virgin Islands refineries--supplies about 13 percent of the reformulated gasoline used in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut region. Production from Hess's Port Reading refining facility alone translates to 14-20 percent of New Jersey's total gasoline consumption. My office is advised that if S. 517 does not allow EPA to retain existing MSAT baseline adjustments or grant new ones, it will constrict the ability of its Virgin Islands joint venture facility to manufacture reformulated gasoline and may cause Port Reading to close. The reformulated gasoline supplied by these two refineries, as I noted previously, today has almost 60 percent less sulfur and 35 percent less benzene than the refinery industry average and would be replaced by other suppliers, who would supply less clean gasoline on average. Moreover, New Jersey could lose a major employer in the form of Port Reading which, in addition to producing clean gasoline, has been identified as among the top environmental performers for refineries in the country in Environmental Defense's most recent rankings.”