EPA Director Lee Zeldin told reporters at a Houston energy conference that the order will boost gas supplies and lower costs before the summer driving season.
HOUSTON—The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a temporary 20-day emergency fuel waiver that will allow nationwide sales of gasoline with higher blends of ethanol beginning May 1 to boost domestic supplies and temper skyrocketing fuel costs rocking the global economy.
After “closely monitoring fuel markets for potential supply disruptions that could create extreme and unusual conditions … we foresee potential for a disruption to the American fuel supply,” EPA Director Lee Zeldin told reporters during a brief March 25 press conference at the 44th annual CERAWeek by S&P Global conference at the Americas Hilton–Houston.
With ships idling in the Persian Gulf and stacking in the Arabian Sea unwilling to transit the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian threat is preventing the daily movement of up to 20 percent of the world’s crude oil and liquified natural gas, sending fuel costs skyrocketing.
The waiver will allow refineries to produce E15 gasoline, which is blended with 15 percent ethanol, and “remove all federal impediments” to selling E10 gasoline blended with 10 percent ethanol “across the country,” the EPA said in a statement. The E10 blend is commonly sold in gas stations throughout the United States.
The waiver is a temporary relaxation of Clean Air Act regulations. In addition, the EPA said it’s “waiving federal enforcement of all state ‘boutique’ fuel requirements for gasoline, allowing the production and distribution of gasoline with nine to 15 percent ethanol content.”
“Through the waiver,” the EPA continued, “EPA is fortifying the domestic gasoline supply chain and providing Americans relief at the pumps ahead of the upcoming summer driving season.” It noted the waiver is being issued now to give refineries time to adjust production blends.
E15 is currently offered at more than 3,000 gas stations nationwide “as a more affordable choice for Americans,” the EPA said. “Without this action, E15 gasoline cannot be used by roughly half of the country this summer.”
The May 1 emergency fuel waiver expires May 20, the maximum number of days allowed under the Clean Air Act.
By John Haughey
