EPA Issues Emergency Waiver Allowing Sale of Cheaper E15 Gas

The blend contains higher amounts of ethanol than standard unleaded, and its availability had been banned during the summer over smog concerns.

A Lawrence, Kan. gas station pump with various grades of fuel, including E15, in a handout photo from July 11, 2012. AP Photo/Renewable Fuels Association, Robert White

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an emergency waiver on Monday allowing for the sale of gasoline that contains higher levels of ethanol during the summer months and signaled that it will allow for the “year-round” sale of the fuel nationwide.

In a news release, the EPA said that E15 gasoline, which has 15 percent ethanol, can be sold around the United States, after President Donald Trump declared a “National Energy Emergency” that directed the agency to give consumers more options.

While the release’s headline said that the EPA will allow for the “nationwide year-round E15” sale, it only included information about the sale of E15 over the summer.

The emergency waiver, issued by the EPA on April 28, prevents retailers in most states from having to stop selling E15 gasoline on May 1. While the waiver remains in effect only through May 20, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said he plans to keep issuing waivers through Sept. 15, when the federal government typically would again allow E15 sales in all states.

“President Trump’s commitment to farmers and the Renewable Fuels Standard has been a cornerstone to his leadership. In my confirmation hearing, I pledged to establish certainty when it came to the sale of E15 year-round. Promises made, promises kept,” Zeldin said in a statement.

The Epoch Times contacted the EPA for additional comment on Tuesday.

Usually, the sale of E15 is restricted during the summer months due to concerns that the fuel, which is made from corn, can produce more smog. However, in 2022, 2023, and 2024, the EPA issued short-term waivers to allow the fuel’s sale in the summer months. Last year, the EPA allowed its sale in Midwestern states including Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Most gasoline sold across the United States is blended with 10 percent ethanol, but 15 percent blends are becoming increasingly common, particularly in the Midwest, where most of the nation’s corn is grown. E15 gasoline generally costs at least 10 cents less a gallon than E10 gasoline.

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average price for regular unleaded gasoline was $3.16 per gallon as of Tuesday. That’s down by about 50 cents from the same period in 2024, when the average price was $3.65 per gallon.

Monday’s announcement from the EPA noted that the agency can temporarily waive fuel requirements to deal with gasoline shortages and that “ongoing issues with gasoline supplies” warrant the E15 order.

Zeldin had determined that “extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances exist and has granted a temporary waiver to help ensure that an adequate supply of gasoline is available,” the release said.

“Currently, in about half of the country, E15 cannot be sold from terminals starting on May 1 and at retail stations starting on June 1,” the agency said.

Monday’s order will allow the fuel waiver to go into effect on May 1 until at least May 20, which is the maximum number of days allotted under the Clean Air Act.

However, the EPA said it “expects to issue new waivers effectively extending the emergency fuel waiver until such time as the extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances are no longer present.”

The Department of Energy says that the EPA has approved E15 for use in “light-duty conventional vehicles of model year 2001 and newer.” But it noted that only E10, the regular unleaded fuel known as 87 and which contains 10 percent ethanol, should be used in passenger vehicles made in the model year 2000 and before.

E10 also should be used in motorcycles, boats, lawnmowers, and other “non-road and small engines and vehicles,” according to the agency.

In 2021, the American Motorcyclist Association filed a lawsuit against the EPA over its policies regarding E15, arguing “that fuel blends containing more than the standard 10 percent ethanol” have “damaged engines and exhaust systems,” according to a statement from the group.

On July 2, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down a 2019 rule that allowed selling E15 during the summer months, saying the waiver was beyond the Trump administration’s legal jurisdiction.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.