The U.S. retail diesel average dropped 5.2 cents to $2.781 a gallon last week, the third straight weekly drop, the Department of Energy reported.

The Obama Administration is asking Congress to approve a nearly $10 billion Environmental Protection Agency budget that would shift $20 million in California truck diesel emissions retrofit grant funding to a nationwide diesel emissions reduction program that also includes funding for rail and marine diesel emissions reduction projects.

The U.S. retail diesel average price fell 3.7 cents a gallon to $2.833 last week, the largest one-week decline since July, the Department of Energy reported.

Michigan lawmakers have proposed a 6-cent increase in the state’s diesel tax to help pay for road improvements, the Associated Press reported.

California environmental regulators are considering several options to delay some requirements of the state’s diesel emissions regulation to provide “short-term relief” for truckers feeling the effects of the recession.

Trucking industry officials have filed comments opposing the California Air Resources Board’s plan to initiate a statewide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The national diesel average declined 0.9 cent to $2.87 last week as pump prices moderated after a sharp spike the prior three weeks, the Department of Energy reported.