EPA to ‘reconsider’ air quality rules as Texas faces diesel price ‘disaster’

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Tuesday it would “reconsider” air-quality regulations amid Texas’s diesel price “disaster.”

The letter sent by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) responded to concern from officials in the Lone Star State that rules from the Biden and Obama administrations are causing “significant economic harm.”

“Texas should not be unfairly punished with burdensome requirements,” Zeldin said in a press release about the letter. “While EPA cannot prejudge the outcomes of these reconsiderations, the agency is committed to working with Texas to make sure this is done right.”

The review comes after Abbott declared a statewide disaster over diesel prices Monday, allowing him to lift other restrictions on commercial transportation. He expanded the use of dyed diesel — untaxed off-road fuel typically banned on public roadways — on Texas roads and suspended Texas Low Emission Diesel rules to the federal government limit.

“Record prices put both industries at risk and raise costs for every Texas family,” Abbott said in a press release.

Diesel costs nearly $6.40 per gallon on average nationally, according to AAA . The fuel cost roughly 84 cents less a month ago and about $2.76 less a year ago.

The EPA’s announcement outlined the first policy it would be reviewing is the nonattainment classification from 2015 Ozone designations , which authorized more stringent emission control strategies in parts of Texas.

It will also reconsider the Biden-era EPA disapproval of Texas’s attempts to comply with federal ozone quality standards set out in the Clean Air Act, according to the press release.

“This would ensure that manufacturers and residents in Texas are not penalized for pollution originating beyond their borders and control, allowing the region to continue growing and developing while maintaining clean air,” the press release continued.

The high prices remain top of mind for many lawmakers as the Senate considers a proposal endorsed by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and other farm-state Republicans to embargo the export of diesel to increase supply and lower prices at home.

The White House denied a report last week that it was planning a 90-day ban on diesel exports.