The Environmental Protection Agency issued a temporary emergency fuel waiver Thursday in an effort to increase the gasoline supply and lower pump prices by lifting summer blend requirements two weeks early.

Starting Sept. 1, the EPA will allow the sale of E10 at a higher Reid Vapor Pressure, which the agency says is expected to increase domestic gasoline supply by "hundreds of thousands of barrels per day."

"This action extends the ethanol blending limit in gasoline from 10% to 15%, reinstates the 1 psi allowance for ethanol blends in states where it was previously removed and waives federal low volatility gasoline standards," the EPA said online.

The waiver is in effect through Sept. 15. It also temporarily lifts state-level controls in Texas, Arizona and California that extend beyond that date for the maximum allowable period of 20 days. The EPA will monitor gasoline supplies in those states and may extend the waiver to ensure adequate gasoline supplies to consumers.

Federally mandated summer-blend gasoline requirements normally run from May 1-Sept. 15 for refiners and terminals, and from June 1-Sept. 15 for retailers.

"National motor gasoline inventories remain 6% below the five-year average for this time of year, and the Energy Information Administration projects inventories to remain below the seasonal five-year range until fall 2026," the Energy Marketers of America told members Thursday evening in a bulletin addressing the waiver. "Iran attacks on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz and strikes against regional oil and gas infrastructure have disrupted global energy markets, while U.S. refining capacity has declined by 800,000 b/d since January 2020. Refinery utilization currently stands at 96.2% -- leaving virtually no production cushion to absorb disruptions."

The EMA said the waiver preserves fuel supply "at a critical time."