FUEL RETAILERS CALL ON EPA TO SAFEGUARD EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS ACHIEVEMENTS

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- NATSO, representing truck stops and travel centers, SIGMA: America's Leading Fuel Marketers, and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), urged the Environmental Protection Agency to modify its proposed changes to the inducement framework for diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). 

NATSO, SIGMA and NACS support the Administration's existing guidance, which addressed concerns about commercial vehicles utilizing Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology. Nitrogen oxide emissions from heavy-duty vehicles have declined 76 percent since 2010 through SCR technology and DEF — making the widespread adoption of DEF technology the most significant environmental success story for liquid fuels in the trucking sector. Allowing the guidance to be fully implemented will preserve the widespread adoption of DEF technology — safeguarding the economic and environmental benefits it provides. By contrast, EPA's currently proposed regulatory changes would disrupt those efforts and create confusion about DEF requirements while threatening to decrease DEF's availability, increase its price, and undermine its benefits.

"The existing regulatory framework spurred fuel retailers to invest in a DEF distribution and retail network that today functions as a well-established, competitive, and reliable market for DEF," said David Fialkov, Executive Director of Government Affairs for NATSO and SIGMA. "SCR and DEF technology have demonstrated that substantial emissions reductions are possible through the existing refueling infrastructure. The use of DEF and SCR are some of the strongest examples of how targeted innovation can lead to meaningful improvements in the environmental attributes of liquid fuels."

NATSO, SIGMA and NACS support the benefits that DEF and SCR technology have delivered to emissions reductions and fuel economy. More than 100,000 retail locations in North America, including more than 95 percent of North American truck stops, offer DEF.

"EPA did the right thing with its existing guidance and should let that be implemented before making changes," said NACS Deputy General Counsel Matt Durand. "This rule should be put on hold while the industry works to ensure we get the full measure of the benefits of these engine systems."

If drivers believe DEF is optional, they will be less likely to buy DEF. If volumes do not support a competitive supply, availability will diminish and prices may rise. The drivers most affected would be those who continue to purchase DEF in good faith compliance with the emissions standards. EPA's proposed changes will inadvertently harm the very drivers it aims to help.

The associations, which represent DEF retailers and suppliers for commercial trucking, agriculture, and the broader diesel equipment market, urged EPA to:

• Permit the August 2025 and March 2026 Guidance to fully penetrate the market before substantially amending diesel engine inducement requirements;
  
  
• Clearly communicate that DEF and Selective Catalytic Reduction requirements remain in effect and that operating an SCR-equipped engine without DEF damages the vehicle;
  
  
• Expand access to low-cost vehicle repairs to ensure independent repair shops can service DEF sensor faults, which are among the most common failures that independent repair shops encounter.

NATSO, SIGMA and NACS further recommend that EPA retain derates as an enforcement backstop paired with robust notifications; refrain from restricting which derates manufacturers choose to protect their equipment; retain 32.5 percent as the DEF quality reference concentration; remove the provision suspending inducements in cold weather and treat nonroad and highway applications separately.

NATSO, SIGMA and NACS look forward to working with EPA to ensure that any reform to this complex regulatory framework is carefully targeted and evidence-based to avoid diminishing DEF's availability or increasing its costs for consumers.

Read the comments here.

About NATSO, SIGMA, and NACS

NATSO is the trade association representing America's travel center and truck stop industry. Founded in 1960, NATSO represents the industry on legislative and regulatory matters; serves as the official source of information on the diverse travel center, truck stop and off-highway fuel retail industries; provides education to its members; conducts an annual convention and trade show; and supports efforts to generally improve the business climate in which its members operate. For more information visit NATSO.com. Follow NATSO on Facebook; Instagram; LinkedIn; and X. Contact: Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman, Vice President, Public Affairs. 202-365-9459

SIGMA is the national trade association representing the most successful, progressive, and innovative fuel marketers and chain retailers in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1958 as the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA), SIGMA has become a fixture in the motor fuel marketing industry. Representing a diverse membership of approximately 250 independent chain retailers and marketers of motor fuel, the association serves to further the interests of both the branded and unbranded segment of the industry while providing information and services to members. For more information visit SIGMA.org.

NACS For more than 60 years, NACS has been recognized as the premiere association for convenience and fuel retailers. NACS has more than 1,000 retail member companies that cumulatively represent more than 200,000 stores in 50-plus countries, including 90,000 stores in the United States alone. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more than 152,000 stores nationwide selling fuel, food and merchandise, conducts 160 million transactions daily and had sales of $837 billion in 2024. For more information, visit convenience.org. Follow NACS on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

SOURCE NATSO, Inc.