Will The White House Waive Smog Rules To Lower Gas Prices?

To lower gasoline prices, the U.S. White House is considering waiving more guidelines that aim at reducing summertime smog, according to a Reuters report.

Currently, refiners and blenders are “required to avoid lower-cast components like butane in summer gasoline, but the White House is weighing suspending that rule to help lower fuel costs," stated Reuters. “The components help elevate gasoline’s Reid vapor pressure, or RVP, which contributes to smog at higher levels, particularly in the hot summer months."

The summertime ban for the sale of E15 had already been lifted by the Biden administration. E15 is a mix of gasoline and 10.5% to 15% ethanol (hence the “15”) and was previously barred from use during the summer because it contributed to smog during warmer weather. For now, E15 sales will be allowed year-round.

This new waiver would apply to all grades of gasoline, according to Reuters sources.

Why This Is Important: No one knows how this will affect the environment, but EcoWatch did state these waivers were examples of how the pressure to reduce gas prices is coming into conflict with Biden’s environmental agenda, of which one priority was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to 52% by 2030 as per the Paris agreement.

In the meantime, gas prices are still higher than last year at this time. Today, AAA stated the national average for regular gas is $4.596 a gallon; a year ago, the average price of regular gasoline at the pump was $3.039 a gallon.

The states with the highest prices at pumps are California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois and New York. The highest is California with $6.069 at the pump. The state with the lowest price at the pump is Oklahoma at $4.037.

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