WINDSOR TWP., Pa. – Right now, the rules on red-dyed diesel remain unclear.
“It’s kind of the wild, wild West a little bit right now,” said Dwight Heckman of Werley’s Service Station in Berks County.
That’s because President Donald Trump’s executive order changed the federal rules, but Pennsylvania has yet to decide whether it will follow suit.
Heckman has been selling red-dyed diesel at Werley’s, just outside Hamburg, since the president issued the executive order temporarily expanding use of the fuel on highways.
“It’s the same product, the same characteristics, the same performance,” Heckman said.
The difference is the tax.
The federal government is allowing red-dyed diesel, which is exempt from the federal tax of 24.4 cents a gallon, on public roads through the end of the year.
The goal, the administration says, is to lower costs for truckers and farmers facing record-high diesel prices.
“I think it might help. Maybe it’ll bring down the demand for on-road diesel, if more people get off-road [red-dyed diesel],” Heckman said.
However, Pennsylvania hasn’t made any moves yet.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration is reviewing the order and all its options.
Meanwhile, truckers who cross state lines could face uncertainty as they deal with different rules from one state to the next.
“The tricky part is, you know, are the states going to follow suit or are they going to want their money?” Heckman said.