Sponsors (56)
The bill expands E15 sales and provides sizable regulatory relief to small refineries to preserve jobs and fuel supply, but it raises air‑quality and vehicle‑compatibility risks, shifts compliance costs that could affect fuel prices, and reduces confidentiality for exemption petitions.
Small/refining sector: Small refineries get substantial regulatory relief (big reduction in compliance obligations starting 2028, one-year exemptions for at‑risk refineries, and restoration/eligibility of some retired credits), helping preserve local refinery jobs and maintain local fuel supply continuity.
Drivers and fuel retailers: EPA updates to labeling and tank rules enable broader sale and use of E15 (greater-than-10% up to 15% ethanol), increasing retail fuel choices and infrastructure compatibility for higher‑ethanol blends.
Urban and vulnerable populations: Allowing fuels substantially similar to certified/waived fuels and expanding RVP tolerances could increase volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and worsen air quality, harming children, people with respiratory conditions, and other at‑risk groups.
Drivers and taxpayers: Reducing small refinery obligations and narrowing exemption extensions may shift renewable fuel compliance costs onto larger obligated parties or consumers, potentially increasing fuel prices.
Owners of older/uncertified vehicles: Broader E15 availability and relaxed RVP limits could increase the risk of vehicle compatibility problems and warranty disputes for vehicles not certified for higher ethanol blends.
Based on analysis of 1 section of legislative text.
Amends Clean Air Act gasoline provisions to add a new RVP-related pathway for some fuels and to prohibit extending/continuing small refinery exemptions beginning in 2028.
Makes targeted changes to the Clean Air Act’s gasoline vapor pressure rules and to the program that grants small refinery exemptions. It revises Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) language to add a new statutory pathway allowing certain fuels or additives to be introduced into commerce if they are substantially similar to fuels used in vehicle certification or previously waived, adjusts numeric RVP range language, and tightens or phases out how the EPA Administrator may grant or continue exemptions for small refineries beginning in 2028. The bill rewrites and relabels parts of the statute for clarity, modifies several internal cross-references and headings, expands an RVP percentage range in the law, and narrows the Administrator’s authority to apply, extend, or continue exemptions for small refineries, limiting future petitions and enforcement of ongoing exemptions after 2027.
Official title: To amend the Clean Air Act with respect to the ethanol waiver for Reid Vapor Pressure under that Act, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 13, 2025 by Adrian Smith · Last progress May 14, 2026