Texas lets trucks burn cheaper red-dyed diesel on public roads for now

On September 28, 2026, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a statewide fuel emergency after diesel averaged about $5.90 a gallon in the state the prior week. His proclamation suspends state restrictions and penalties so operators can put dyed diesel—the cheaper red-marked fuel normally reserved for farms and construction sites—into vehicles that drive on Texas public roads. The order does not erase the underlying fuel tax itself.

The same order suspends certain state oversize and overweight permit rules for vehicles carrying fuel, agricultural, or timber products and allows those loads a gross weight up to 95,000 pounds. Abbott also asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for temporary relief from federal ultra-low-sulfur diesel rules and Texas Low Emission Diesel requirements that limit which fuel can be sold.

What “dyed diesel” actually means

Clear (undyed) diesel sold for highway use includes federal and state motor-fuel taxes that help pay for roads. Dyed diesel is chemically the same fuel but has red dye added at the terminal so inspectors can see that those highway taxes were not collected. Under normal rules it is legal for off-road equipment; putting it in a licensed truck on a public road is treated as tax evasion and can bring state and federal penalties. Abbott’s order pauses Texas’s own enforcement of that ban for the duration of the emergency; federal tax rules are separate, which is why the governor also sought EPA help.

• Dyed diesel = red-marked, tax-exempt off-road fuel; clear diesel = taxed highway fuel.
• Texas is temporarily allowing the red fuel on state roads and easing some truck weight limits on fuel, crop, and timber loads (up to 95,000 pounds).
• The move aims to cut operating costs for truckers and farmers so less of the spike shows up in grocery and goods prices.
• Similar short-term dyed-diesel enforcement pauses have appeared in other states facing the same price spike.