Fuel STAR Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill caps the amount of conventional biofuel (like corn ethanol) that must be blended into gasoline each year. Instead of allowing the EPA to set ever-higher mandates, the required volume cannot exceed what the Energy Information Administration projects Americans will actually consume.
• Small refineries processing 10,000 barrels or fewer per day that opened after 2007 become eligible for hardship exemptions from blending requirements. If the EPA does not respond to an exemption petition within 90 days, the exemption is automatically granted.
• When a small refinery wins an exemption, the EPA is banned from shifting that refinery's biofuel blending obligation onto other refineries. This protects mid-size and larger refineries from having to absorb extra compliance costs.
• The bill allows year-round sales of E15 gasoline (15% ethanol blend) by applying the same vapor pressure rules that currently allow summer sales of E10. This removes a regulatory barrier that has blocked E15 from being sold during warmer months in many areas.
• The EPA is prohibited from creating electric vehicle credits (known as e-RINs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Compliance credits from 2020 through 2022 can be used for five more years, but no more than 20% of a company's annual compliance can come from those older credits.