Sponsors (9)
The bill reduces near-term compliance and retrofit costs and clarifies compatibility for many existing tanks while mandating future tanks be E100-capable—trading upfront equipment costs and some environmental/safety and liability risks for lower immediate expenses and greater long-term fuel flexibility.
Small-business fueling-station owners/operators can keep many existing underground storage tanks and compatible components in service to store up to E15 without requiring new documentation or full-system retrofits, reducing inspection and replacement costs.
Consumers, rural communities, and taxpayers may gain greater future fuel flexibility because new or replaced USTs must be compatible up to E100, which could facilitate broader adoption of higher-ethanol fuels.
Local and rural communities face increased environmental and safety risks if undocumented existing tanks deemed compatible with E15 are in fact degraded or incompatible, raising the chance of leaks, contamination, or fires.
Small-business station owners will face higher upfront equipment and installation costs because new or replacement USTs and components must be built to handle E100.
Broad compatibility presumptions (for example, treating post-2005 steel/fiberglass tanks and certain piping as compatible) could shift cleanup costs and liability burdens onto local communities if failures occur and tanks were not individually assessed.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Directs EPA to finalize the 2021 E15 dispenser labeling and UST compatibility rule within 90 days and sets compatibility standards for existing and future tanks/components, including requiring future installs be E100-compatible.
Official title: To require the Environmental Protection Agency to finalize a proposed rule with respect to E15 fuel dispenser labeling and compatibility with underground storage tanks with modifications, and for other purposes.
Introduced August 1, 2025 by Adrian Smith · Last progress August 1, 2025
Directs the Environmental Protection Agency to finalize the January 19, 2021 proposed rule on E15 fuel dispenser labeling and underground storage tank (UST) compatibility within 90 days of enactment. It requires the EPA to issue the labeling rule, declares existing UST systems compatible with motor fuels up to 15% ethanol under specified conditions, lists categories of tanks and piping deemed compatible, allows component-level demonstrations of compatibility, and mandates that tanks and components installed or replaced after the rule’s effective date be compatible with fuel blends up to 100% ethanol to enable future fuel flexibility.