US Plans to Allow E15 Gasoline this Summer

March 25, 2026

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by Cole Martin (Argus Media) The US is planning to allow refiners and retailers to supply a gasoline blend with more ethanol than is usually allowed in some states in the summer, an effort to temper fuel costs that have surged because of war in the Middle East.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to soon issue emergency waivers allowing continued nationwide sales of gasoline with up to 15pc ethanol (E15), a blend typically restricted in the summer because of rules to limit smog, according to four people familiar with the plans. Most gasoline in the US is sold with 10pc ethanol, but higher-ethanol blends are typically cheaper.

Clarity on the agency's plans is expected on Wednesday. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin was to address the CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas, on Wednesday afternoon with an announcement "regarding nationwide E15 and E10 to boost energy supply and provide cost relief to Americans", according to a media advisory.

EPA said that it was working to restore "American energy dominance" and was "monitoring the supply with industry and federal partners".

EPA has issued emergency waivers allowing summertime E15 the past four years, citing "extreme or unusual" fuel supply issues. President Donald Trump's administration has more recently looked for ways to minimize the impact of war in Iran on US drivers.

Last year's waivers also allowed continued sales of typical E10 gasoline in a group of Midwestern states that would have otherwise required that blend to be mixed with less-volatile but costlier blendstocks. Governors of those seven states, hoping to again halt their shift to the boutique blend that would leave them in a regional fuel island, have asked for similar treatment this year.

Oil refiners have pushed EPA to clarify plans sooner than in years past. The first in a series of 20-day waivers last year came just days before summer driving season kicked off, frustrating fuel makers and distributors that had already invested millions to move to the boutique Midwestern blend.

The focus on emergency waivers comes as a task force of Republican lawmakers in Congress has struggled to reach agreement on biofuel policy legislation that would permanently adjust air quality rules to allow E15 sales year-round. Some refiners have objected to earlier proposals that would restrict their ability to win exemptions from biofuel blend mandates.

Lobbyists close to the debate say there is disagreement in Congress over whether to continue pushing for far-reaching biofuel legislation that limits those exemptions or a slimmer E15 bill instead. Senate Agriculture Committee chair John Boozman (R-Arkansas) said at an event in DC on Monday that he supports E15 but that restricting exemptions could lead small refineries, including one in his state, to close. READ MORE

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Trump officials ready E15 waiver for summer gasoline sales (Bloomberg)
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Yearslong ethanol policy standoff could cost Illinois drivers at the pump yet again (Capitol News Illinois)

Excerpt from Capitol News Illinois: Illinois retailers say they need to know soon whether to purchase ethanol-infused E15 gasoline for summer use

Midwestern governors, including Illinois’ JB Pritzker, are seeking a permanent solution to being able to use the ethanol blend E15 gasoline that’s cheaper but some say more polluting at a time when gasoline prices are rising.
For three years, routine federal waivers temporarily lifted EPA restrictions that would otherwise bar retailers from selling E15 fuel during the summer months. But in 2025, that relief was delayed and gasoline retailers lost millions.
Illinois corn and ethanol producers warn that the uncertainty behind what will happen each summer goes beyond the gas pump. It also hits their pocketbooks.

With gas prices surging to a national average of just under $4 per gallon due to the U.S. bombing of Iran, a yearslong policy standoff over ethanol-blended fuel threatens to push prices even higher in Illinois for a second straight year.

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The sale of ethanol, which is made from corn, began to get more complicated in 2022 when eight Midwestern states — Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Minnesota — surrendered a federal waiver that allowed the usage of E10 (10% ethanol) during the summer months. The governors framed their petition as a state-level solution, but industry advocates said the broader goal was to pressure Congress into a nationwide permanent fix for E15 fuel use.

The federal government reacted by issuing summer emergency waivers from 2022-24, temporarily lifting Environmental Protection Agency restrictions that would otherwise bar retailers from selling E15 fuel during the summer.

Delays in 2025

However, during the first months of the Trump administration in early 2025, there was a delay in issuing the emergency waiver. It took until late April, resulting in higher prices for a longer period because retailers had already bought the more-expensive product.

The feds have not issued a waiver yet this year. In hopes of avoiding a repeat of 2025, Gov. JB Pritzker joined six of his counterparts earlier this month in a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin urging an emergency waiver announcement by March 15. That didn’t happen.

The letter, which was signed by Pritzker as well as the governors of Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota, also requested that any E15 waiver that is provided includes an identical one for E10 — the most common fuel distributed in the U.S. — to ensure fuel standards stay the same across the board.

“Given that Congress has yet to deliver regulatory relief to expedite nationwide, year-round E15 sales, we join with many others to call on the EPA to provide a nationwide emergency waiver for E15 during the coming months to ensure ample, low-cost fuel options for consumers,” the letter said.

When the EPA granted last year’s emergency waiver on April 28, Zeldin cited President Donald Trump’s commitment to lower energy costs and to farmers who grow the corn for ethanol.

“In my confirmation hearing, I pledged to establish certainty when it came to the sale of E15 year-round,’’ Zeldin said in a news release.

The EPA did not respond to questions sent by Capitol News Illinois about what it plans to do for this summer, and for a permanent solution.

Illinois retailers’ uncertainty

Nate Harris, CEO of the Illinois Fuel and Retail Association, which represents over 500 members in the state’s gas station and convenience store industry, said he remains concerned, recalling what happened a year ago.

“The problem with waiting until late April is that my members that have already purchased this more-expensive product are going to be stuck holding it,” Harris said. “The industry last year lost tens of millions of dollars and will likely do so again, which is unnecessary because the ability to just opt back into the waiver exists.”

In addition to the financial losses incurred by retailers, consumers temporarily dealt with higher prices — as much as 30 cents per gallon more, according to Harris.

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An Illinois Department of Agriculture news release calling for a quick decision on the waiver quotes several Democratic members of Congress who want a permanent federal solution. Among them was Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Moline, who serves on the House Agriculture Committee and represents rural communities stretching from Rockford to Decatur.

Earlier in March, Sorensen had attempted to amend the Farm Bill currently under consideration by the Agriculture Committee in Congress to include language enabling the year-round sale of E15. But the amendment was blocked over questions of jurisdiction.

Sorensen, in a news release, said he hopes Congress eventually will act.

“We need certainty for farmers and lower prices at the gas pump,’’ he said. READ MORE