EPA Announces Nationwide E15 Fuel Waiver, Delivers Relief at the Pump for Western States

In a decisive move to combat rising fuel prices and strengthen America’s energy independence, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced today a nationwide emergency waiver for E15 and E10 ethanol-blended fuels. The action, effective May 1, 2026, removes seasonal restrictions on higher-ethanol blends to bolster domestic fuel supply, provide immediate relief for farmers and drivers at the pump, and reduce reliance on foreign oil. 

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…

— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) March 25, 2026

“I just signed and announced a nationwide E15 and E10 fuel waiver to fortify U.S. fuel supply,” Zeldin posted on X. “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.” 

“President Trump is unleashing American Energy Dominance, and today’s action will directly lower prices at the pump and gives a clear demand signal to our domestic biofuels producers. Allowing the summer sale of E-15 will provide drivers more options at the pump, and deliver a bigger domestic market for American farmers,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins. “While today’s announcement is great news for farmers, year-round E-15 is essential for the farm economy, and Congress needs to find a common sense solution that provides much needed certainty to consumers and farmers. Once again, Administrator Zeldin and President Trump’s cabinet is delivering for our great American farmers. Our energy security is truly a national security priority, and our nations corn farmers are a key part of the solution.”

The waiver comes as California’s refineries are shuttering and global tensions — including the recent Iran conflict — have driven up energy prices nationwide. 

By allowing E15 (15% ethanol) sales year-round, including during the high-demand summer driving season when volatility rules normally limit its use, the EPA is expanding consumer choice and injecting more affordable, domestically produced fuel into the market. E10 blends receive similar flexibility.

The impacts will ripple across the West.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R)  formed the Nevada Fuel Resiliency Committee in early 2026 to address the state’s heavy dependence on California refineries and mitigate supply disruptions. The bipartisan committee — established under the Nevada Commission on Homeland Security — brings together state agencies, industry leaders, and emergency management partners to strengthen Nevada’s fuel supply chain and reduce vulnerabilities stemming from California’s regulatory environment and refinery closures.

The waiver builds on earlier bipartisan regional cooperation. In September 2024, Govs. Joe Lombardo and Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) sent a joint letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom urging him to reconsider legislation (ABX2-1/SB 950) that they warned could create artificial gasoline shortages and raise prices for consumers in Nevada and Arizona. The letter highlighted concerns that California’s policies would disproportionately burden downstream states reliant on its refining capacity.

88 percent of Nevada’s fuels are delivered via pipeline and truck from refineries in California. Arizona receives approximately 40-45 percent of its gasoline from California refineries (with the remainder primarily from New Mexico and Texas).

Despite having the 5th largest reserves in the U.S., California imports over 67 percent of its oil needs from foreign countries.

As The California Globe has reported, California’s anti-oil policies under Governor Newsom have pushed the state toward a refining crisis, with multiple facilities shuttered or threatened by the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) burdensome rules. 

A PBF Energy warning highlighted how regulations are “driving in-state refining capacity to zero,” while closures of Marathon, Valero, and Phillips 66 facilities have left California with just seven operational refineries — risking gas prices as high as $8.43 per gallon.

Earlier this month, Marathon Petroleum Corporation delivered a blistering warning to Governor Newsom and top state officials in a letter declaring that proposed amendments to CARB’s Cap-and-Invest program would make California refineries “among the most expensive refineries to operate in the world,” threatening widespread shutdowns, fuel shortages, skyrocketing prices, and massive economic damage.

This EPA action builds directly on the Trump administration’s broader energy agenda. President Trump has moved aggressively to expand domestic production, including invoking emergency authority to restart offshore oil operations off California’s coast and revive Santa Barbara-area rigs and processing facilities, as well as new offshore lease announcements to unlock federal waters.

In response to Trump’s offshore oil revival, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit, alleging, in part, that the Department of of Energy’s Order violates the Administrative Procedure Act, is contrary to law and in excess of statutory authority. The lawsuit remains ongoing,

Additional critics on the left, including some environmental groups, have decried ethanol blends over long-term engine and air-quality concerns. However, the Trump EPA and USDA emphasize that year-round E15 supports American farmers, strengthens supply chains, and delivers tangible savings to working families — exactly the “America First” energy dominance promised on Day One.

In the announcement, the agency added: “EPA is committed to doing its part to ensure available supply of fuels and lower the cost of energy for American families, farmers and manufacturers by reducing our reliance on imported fuels and bolstering U.S. energy independence through the cutting of burdensome red tape and commonsense rulemaking.

With summer driving season approaching and refinery capacity still constrained in the West, Zeldin’s waiver marks another concrete win for affordable energy under President Trump. California, Nevada, and Arizona drivers may finally see some relief at the pump — no thanks to Governor Newsom and Sacramento’s radical green agenda.