The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 28, 2025, that it has issued an emergency fuel waiver allowing the sale of gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol (E15) nationwide in summer 2025. EPA notes that this is consistent with President Trump's Executive Order (EO) Declaring a National Energy Emergency, directing EPA to consider issuing emergency waivers to allow for year-round E15 sales. According to EPA, currently, in about half of the country, E15 cannot be sold from terminals starting on May 1 and at retail stations starting on June 1. EPA is providing relief by extending the one pound per square inch (psi) Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver for E15 gasoline. In response to requests from the governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, EPA, in this same action, has also waived provisions that would have otherwise made E10 gasoline sold in those states meet a more stringent standard than conventional gasoline in other parts of the country. EPA "expects retail stations in those States to pass cost savings to consumers at the pump because of these waivers."
The emergency fuel waiver will go into effect on May 1, 2025, when terminal operators would otherwise no longer be able to sell E15 in the affected regions of the country and will initially remain in place through May 20, 2025, the maximum number of days allowed under the Clean Air Act. EPA states that it will continue to monitor the supply with industry and federal partners. EPA "expects to issue new waivers effectively extending the emergency fuel waiver until such time as the extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances are no longer present."
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