Sponsors (53)
The bill increases flexibility in the fuel market and helps some small refineries by restoring RIN credits and loosening RVP-related limits, but it trades off higher ozone/health risks, possible added compliance costs or higher fuel prices, and some legal ambiguity.
Consumers and fuel retailers will have broader access to fuels and additives (including higher-ethanol blends and fuels substantially similar to certified fuels), increasing retail availability and consumer choice at the pump.
Taxpayers and energy companies may see expanded ability to use higher-ethanol blends because RVP numeric thresholds are revised (from '10 percent' to '10 to 15 percent'), which could reduce reliance on some petroleum products.
Small refinery owners can have retired 2016–2018 RIN (renewable identification number) credits returned or applied to their EPA accounts, improving their compliance flexibility and relieving some small-business compliance burdens.
People in ozone-prone regions (broadly taxpayers and residents) could face worsened air quality and higher health risks (e.g., more asthma exacerbations) because allowing fuels that exceed prior RVP limits can increase ozone formation.
Obligated parties (refiners and importers) and ultimately consumers may face higher compliance costs or increased fuel prices if returning retired RIN credits shifts costs across the fuel market.
Altering statutory text and inserting the Act's name into technical provisions creates drafting irregularities that could produce legal ambiguity or increase litigation risk for state governments and regulated entities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 13, 2025 by Adrian Smith · Last progress February 13, 2025
Amends federal fuel and fuel-additive rules in the Clean Air Act to broaden EPA waiver authority and permit certain fuels or additives to be introduced into commerce when they are substantially similar to certified fuels or previously waived fuels, even if they exceed a prior Reid vapor pressure (RVP) limitation. The changes also adjust numeric references to RVP thresholds and update some statutory text to reference the Act's short title. Provides a new credit remedy for certain small refineries under the Renewable Fuel Standard: eligible small refineries may have credits generated for 2016–2018 returned to them or applied to their EPA credit accounts if they meet petitioning and credit-retirement conditions tied to dates already in statute or regulation (including petitions outstanding as of December 1, 2022, and specific 2018 petition/retirement dates). No new appropriation is created.