The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Wednesday that it is temporarily easing fuel standards amid skyrocketing gas prices caused by the Iran war.
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“I just signed and announced a nationwide E15 and E10 fuel waiver to fortify U.S. fuel supply. This waiver ensures a robustly available supply of domestic fuel, providing Americans further relief at the pumps, and reducing our reliance on foreign oil. This means lower energy costs for ALL Americans—fulfilling President Trump’s Day One Executive Orders,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
The EPA’s temporary emergency fuel waiver allows the nationwide sale of E15 and E10 gasoline, fuels blended with 15 percent and 10 percent ethanol, respectively.
The Clean Air Act regulates the amount of ethanol that can be in gasoline, but Zeldin’s emergency order will suspend some of those requirements from May 1 through May 20.
According to Zeldin, the decision will increase the U.S. fuel supply and reduce U.S. reliance on fuel imports while also lowering prices for consumers.
Ethanol is produced from corn, and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins praised the move as a boon for American farmers.
It remains to be seen whether the emergency change will significantly impact the skyrocketing gas prices.
Oil prices have risen significantly since February 28, when President Donald Trump first ordered the U.S. to launch its ongoing military campaign against Iran in conjunction with Israel.
Both sides have struck oil infrastructure, and the Iranians have closed the Strait of Hormuz, an important shipping lane for Middle Eastern oil, in response to the war. Those rising oil costs have been felt by everyday American consumers as rapidly mounting fuel prices at the gas pump.
Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis show that the national average gas prices rose from just $2.94 per gallon on February 23, just days before the war began, to $3.96 per gallon on March 23, with an ongoing upward trajectory.
It’s more than just ethanol, the EPA has mandated a whole lot of special blends, which requires different tanker trucks, different tanks of the tank farm and a whole lot of extra logistics, which both choke supply and adds costs.
What this does is allow a gasoline distributor to make three deliveries at three different gas stations with the same truck and the same fuel. Say coming out of South Portland and making a delivery in Wiscasset a delivery in Waldoboro and delivery in Rockland as opposed to having to make three separate trips…
We have the oil,…. Drill baby, Drill,…..