Even The Fuel Industry Thinks Trump's Dyed Diesel Plan Won't Work

As diesel prices climb, oil reserves plummet, and the United States remains without better ideas for getting goods from point A to point B, truckers have started eyeing home heating oil — commonly called "dyed diesel" — as a substitute. The state of Texas has even encouraged the use of dyed diesel, and explicitly asked the White House to sanction its use on U.S. roads. Well, now the Executive Branch has done just that, and the fuel industry isn't happy. Wait, what?

NBC took a look at an order from the Energy Marketers of America trade group to gas stations, instructing them to ignore the Trump administration's approval of dyed diesel. That may seem like a nonsensical move from an organization of fuel-sellers, who would usually jump at the chance to sell their product for a lower price without impacting their own profits by cutting those pesky taxes out of the equation, but the group is actually in the right here. Despite Trump's executive order, dyed diesel remains a legal gray area, and there's more black than white in the mix. 

While the White House has okayed the use of dyed diesel, it doesn't speak for the entire executive branch. The Environmental Protection Agency still has a say on which fuels get to burn on U.S. roads, and it still has standards for the sulfur content of diesel — standards that home heating oil doesn't always meet. This is why Texas governor Greg Abbott reached out to Lee Zeldin of the EPA when asking the federal government to approve dyed diesel, but Zeldin has thus far only promised to "reconsider" regulations. Without a written change to the EPA's stance, high-sulfur dyed diesel is still not approved for U.S. roads. 

Energy Marketers of America also brought up a separation of powers concern: Taxes are regulated by the Legislative branch, not the Executive, and Congress hasn't made any statements about revoking its tax on roadgoing diesel fuel. All the Trump administration has done, with its executive order, is muddy the waters on whether dyed diesel is allowed on public roads. It seems EMA doesn't want truck stops getting their shoes dirty.