OPINION:
California has the highest gas tax and most-stringent emissions regulations in the nation (“Gasoline prices skyrocket in California,” Web, Sunday). It also has the most costly special summer formulation for gasoline in the nation. The Chevron Corp. refinery in Richmond, Calif., which was shut down after an explosion in early August, supplies a substantial amount of the summer formulation to the West Coast.
There are too few refineries in California and no new refineries have been allowed. California environmentalists have restricted any new oil and gas exploration or production, and the state has the highest taxes and royalties on oil and gas production in the nation. Coupled with Environmental Protection Agency regulations, that is why California’s gas prices are the highest in the nation.
If it were not for economy-crushing environmentalists, government employee and teachers unions and the malfeasance in Sacramento, there might be hope for California’s future.
DANIEL B. JEFFS
Apple Valley, Calif.
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