H.R. 1346: To amend the Clean Air Act with respect to the ethanol waiver for Reid Vapor Pressure under that Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor
Adrian Smith
Republican · NE-3
Congress wants E15 at the pump all year, every year
Why it matters
H.R. 1346 passed the House 218-203 and would make 15 percent ethanol blends legal to sell through the summer as a matter of law, not a yearly emergency waiver. It pairs that with a trade for refiners: from 2028, companies producing 75,000 barrels a day or less get a flat 75 percent cut in their renewable fuel obligations, and the case-by-case exemption petitions end.
Federal smog rules limit how easily gasoline evaporates in hot months. Regular E10 gets a built-in allowance to exceed that limit slightly; E15 doesn't, which is why summer sales have relied on EPA emergency waivers. H.R. 1346 extends the same summer allowance to blends containing 10 to 15 percent ethanol, so stations could sell E15 year-round without waiting on a waiver.
A group of states whose governors asked EPA after January 1, 2022, to drop the E10 allowance in their areas would also be switched to the new 10-to-15 percent treatment. The bill ties that timing to enactment of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026.
The second half is about refineries. Today a small refinery can petition EPA each year for an exemption from its renewable fuel obligation, and EPA decides one case at a time. Starting in 2028, that petition system ends and is replaced by an automatic 75 percent reduction for any refining company that averaged 75,000 barrels a day or less in 2025.
The size test counts the whole corporate family, including parents, subsidiaries and joint ventures. At 42 gallons a barrel, the ceiling is about 3.15 million gallons of fuel a day. A company that goes over it in 2026 or any later year loses the reduction for good, even if production drops again.
EPA could not shift the forgiven gallons onto other refiners and importers. Refineries that retired credits for 2016, 2017 or 2018 while their exemption petitions sat unresolved would get those credits back.
A narrower hardship route stays open for small refineries that can show compliance costs alone put them at imminent risk of closing or converting. Those petitions would be public within 30 days, need a senior officer's sign-off and a decision within 90 days, and all such exemptions together are capped at the energy equivalent of 150 million gallons of conventional biofuel in 2028.
EPA would also have 18 months to update pump labels and underground storage tank rules for E15.
Bill Progress
Latest Action · May 14, 2026
Passed the House, received in Senate
H.R. 1346 Bill Summary
What H.R. 1346 actually does.
E15 stays legal to sell in summer
Blends with 10 to 15 percent ethanol get the same summer vapor-pressure allowance E10 already has, so year-round sales no longer depend on annual EPA emergency waivers.
Midwest opt-out states get the new rule
States whose governors notified EPA after January 1, 2022, and before enactment of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 would have the 10-to-15 percent treatment apply during high-ozone season.
Yearly refinery exemption petitions end
No small refinery may petition for any year after 2027. EPA may not consider petitions filed after July 1, 2028, and should act on outstanding ones by October 1, 2028. Pending legal challenges keep their existing remedies.
Smaller refiners get a flat 75 percent cut
From 2028, any company whose corporate family averaged 75,000 barrels a day or less in 2025 has its renewable fuel obligation reduced by 75 percent.
Growing past the line ends the cut for good
A company that exceeds 75,000 barrels a day in 2026 or any later year loses the reduction permanently, even if output falls back below the limit.
Other refiners don't pick up the slack
From 2028, EPA may not reassign the reduced gallons to other obligated parties when it sets annual volumes.
Old compliance credits come back
Small refineries that retired credits for 2016, 2017 or 2018 while exemption petitions were outstanding get those credits returned or restored to their EPA trading accounts.
Hardship exemptions become public and capped
Refineries at imminent risk of closure solely from compliance costs can still petition. Filings are public within 30 days, require a senior officer's attestation, get a 90-day decision, and total relief is capped at 150 million gallons of conventional biofuel equivalent in 2028.
New pump labels and tank rules within 18 months
EPA must finalize updated E15 dispenser labels and underground storage tank compatibility rules for 10-to-15 percent blends.
Who benefits from H.R. 1346?
Drivers who buy E15
If your station carries E15, it would stay on the pump through summer by law instead of by an emergency order that could lapse.
Fuel retailers
Station owners weighing new E15 pumps or tanks get a permanent federal rule to plan around, plus updated labeling and tank requirements from EPA.
Corn growers and ethanol plants
Year-round E15 means steady summer demand for ethanol rather than a market that could shrink each June.
Refining companies at or under 75,000 barrels a day
They get a guaranteed 75 percent cut in renewable fuel obligations from 2028 with no annual petition, and some recover credits retired for 2016 through 2018.
Who is affected by H.R. 1346?
Small refineries that relied on petitions
Full or partial exemptions granted case by case end in 2028. Relief becomes a fixed 75 percent cut, or a capped, public hardship petition.
Refining companies above 75,000 barrels a day
They get no reduction, and the size test counts every affiliate, so a small plant owned by a larger group does not qualify.
Hardship petitioners
Their financial filings lose confidential business treatment and are posted publicly within 30 days, and a change in ownership after enactment disqualifies them.
EPA
The agency faces an 18-month rulemaking, petition deadlines in July and October 2028, 90-day decisions on hardship requests, and the job of returning years-old credits.
What Congress Is Saying
13 legislators have weighed in on H.R. 1346 — 7 Democrats, 6 Republicans.
H.R. 1346 also appeared in 1 more House floor reference, 1 in the Extensions of Remarks, and 21 routine cosponsor filings.
HR1346 Legislative Journey
Committee Action
May 14, 2026
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
House: Passed 218-203
May 13, 2026
On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 218 - 203 (Roll no. 164). (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H3421-3422)
+11 more actions this day
House: Passed
Apr 29, 2026
Rule H. Res. 1224 passed House.
+1 more action this day
House: Committee Action
Feb 13, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
About the Sponsor
Adrian Smith
Republican, Nebraska's 3rd congressional district · 19 years in Congress
Committees: Joint Committee on Taxation, Ways and Means
View full profile →
Cosponsors (55)
This bill has 55 cosponsors: 18 Democrats, 37 Republicans, reflecting bipartisan support. Cosponsors represent 19 states: Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, and 16 more.
Angie Craig
Democrat · MN
Dusty Johnson
Republican · SD
Nikki Budzinski
Democrat · IL
Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Republican · IA
Sharice Davids
Democrat · KS
Mike Flood
Republican · NE
Mike Bost
Republican · IL
Max Miller
Republican · OH
Mary Miller
Republican · IL
Brad Finstad
Republican · MN
Ron Estes
Republican · KS
Darin LaHood
Republican · IL
Committee Sponsors
Environment and Public Works Committee
0 of 18 committee members cosponsored
No committee members have cosponsored this bill
Energy and Commerce Committee
5 of 54 committee members cosponsored
35 Republicans across these committees haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
H.R. 1346 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Environment and Public Works
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Environmental Protection
- Introduced
- Feb 13, 2025
Passed the House, received in Senate
May 14, 2026
Official Sources
Official bill page with status, text, sponsors, and the 218-203 House vote on H.R. 1346.
The Congressional Budget Office estimate of how year-round E15 and the small refinery changes would affect federal revenues and spending.
The Clean Air Act fuel section H.R. 1346 amends: subsection (h) covers summer vapor pressure, and subsection (o) covers the Renewable Fuel Standard and small refinery exemptions.
EPA overview of the Renewable Fuel Standard, the program whose refinery obligations H.R. 1346 would cut by 75 percent for companies at or under 75,000 barrels a day.
How the case-by-case small refinery exemption petitions work today, the process H.R. 1346 would end after 2027.
EPA explanation of summer gasoline volatility limits and the 1.0 psi allowance for E10 that H.R. 1346 would extend to E15.
Department of Energy guide to E15, including which vehicles are approved to use it and where it is sold.
EPA underground storage tank program, which H.R. 1346 directs to update tank compatibility rules for 10 to 15 percent ethanol blends within 18 months.
H.R. 1346 Common Questions
Would H.R. 1346 make E15 legal to sell all year?
Yes. It gives 10 to 15 percent ethanol blends the same summer vapor-pressure allowance E10 already has, so stations could sell E15 through the summer without EPA issuing an emergency waiver each year.
What is E15, and can my car use it?
E15 is gasoline with up to 15 percent ethanol; standard pump gas is E10. EPA has approved E15 for cars and light trucks from model year 2001 on. It isn't approved for motorcycles, boats or small engines like lawn mowers.
Why has E15 been hard to find in summer?
Federal smog rules cap how easily gasoline evaporates in hot months. E10 has a built-in allowance to exceed that cap slightly; E15 hasn't, so summer sales have depended on EPA emergency waivers issued one season at a time.
What does H.R. 1346 change for small oil refineries?
From 2028, yearly exemption petitions end. Instead, any refining company that averaged 75,000 barrels a day or less in 2025, counting all affiliates, gets an automatic 75 percent cut in its renewable fuel obligation.
What if a refiner grows past 75,000 barrels a day?
It loses the 75 percent cut that year and every year after, even if production later drops back under the limit.
Can a struggling refinery still get a full exemption?
Only through a narrower hardship route. It must show compliance costs alone put it at imminent risk of closing, with a senior officer's sign-off. Petitions are made public within 30 days, and total exemptions are capped at 150 million gallons of biofuel equivalent in 2028.
Did H.R. 1346 pass the House?
Yes. The House passed it 218-203 on May 13, 2026. It was referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee the next day.
Will gas station pumps and tanks have to change?
EPA would have 18 months to update E15 pump labels and underground storage tank compatibility rules for 10 to 15 percent blends. The bill sets the deadline; the details come in EPA's rule.
Based on H.R. 1346 bill text
H.R. 1346 Bill Text
“To amend the Clean Air Act with respect to the ethanol waiver for Reid Vapor Pressure under that Act, and for other purposes.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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