By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
For decades, motorists have filled their gas tanks at tax-free Native American filling stations on the Seneca Nation’s Allegany and Cattaraugus territories and more recently Oil Springs at a significant savings. The savings over non-Native gas stations was 30 cents a gallon — or more.
The nine-week-old U.S. war with Iran that has closed the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting global oil price spikes have all but erased that savings.
On Wednesday, the national average cost of a gallon of gasoline was $4.54, according to Gas Buddy and AAA.
The Seneca’s tax-free gas stations were selling unleaded regular for between $4.46 and $4.49, about on par with non-Native gas stations in Cattaraugus County and Western New York.
Country Fair at Wayne and North 12th Street in Olean, for example, was selling unleaded regular for $4.49 a gallon. That price is equal to Seneca One-Stop station in West Salamanca, owned by the Seneca Nation.
Non-Native gas stations pay more than 42 cents a gallon in combined federal and state taxes. The Native gas stations do not pay the 23.8-cents a gallon state gasoline tax.
In February, some Native gas stations were selling gas for $2.699 a gallon. By mid-March, the price had risen to $3.16 a gallon and to $3.63 a gallon by April 1. On Wednesday, the posted price per gallon at Native gas stations in Salamanca had risen to $4.46 to $4.49 — about the same as non-Native stations in the county. Diesel at Seneca One-Stop in Salamanca was $1 a gallon higher.
In response to a query from the Olean Star Wednesday, a Seneca Nation spokesman said the war in Iraq has caused gas prices to soar — affecting everyone.
The Seneca statement:
“When world events, like the war in Iran, wreak havoc on gas prices, it impacts everyone. The price we are paying for our gasoline supply is changing drastically on a near daily basis.
“We saw an increase of 60 cents per gallon in a recent two-day stretch. Due to the high volume of business we see at our Seneca One Stop locations, we often purchase gasoline supply more frequently than other retailers, placing us at the leading edge of the price increases.
“That lag means that costs at Native and non-Native retailers can be very similar for a time. For the same reason, when prices drop, we will often be the first to see the decrease in price.
“Like all retailers and our customers, we are doing our best to manage the current price spikes and volatility as best as we can.
“We continue to actively monitor prices as we purchase our gasoline supply to ensure we are getting the best price so we can provide our customers the best value possible.”
