PMAA

Following the January 31 release of the State Department’s latest study that again confirms previous assessments that Keystone XL is unlikely to have significant effects on greenhouse gas emissions, four Senate Democrats pressed President Obama to approve the pipeline. Furthermore, the five year investigation found that without the pipeline, the crude could still be moved by rail and barge, which have marginally higher greenhouse emissions and likelihood of accident.

Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Mark Pryor (D-AR) showed their strong support this week by joining a rally in a Senate office building along with Republicans, the Canadian ambassador, and labor leaders to call for the administration to sign off on the $5.4 billion Canada-U.S. oil pipeline. In addition, Senators Mark Begich (D-AK) and Kay Hagan (D-NC) have also strongly urged the President to approve the pipeline.

The latest assessment is critical, but not the last step. The administration must decide whether the pipeline, which crosses international boundaries, is in the "national interest." That means EPA and the departments of Defense, Justice, Interior, Commerce, Transportation, Energy and Homeland Security have 90 days to offer their view on any issue related to the pipeline. There will also be a public comment period. Once Secretary of State John Kerry makes a decision (for which there is no timeline), the other agencies can disagree and request the decision get moved to the Oval Office where again there is no deadline for a decision.

Still, even with the many remaining steps and although Obama is forced to choose between labor-union supporters who back the project and environmentalists who oppose it, some analysts believe the latest report boosts the possibility that the pipeline wins U.S. approval as soon as this summer.

CONGRESS UNLIKELY TO RAISE GAS TAX THIS YEAR

Although the Highway Trust Fund might be insolvent by August, lead transportation chairs Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Bill Shuster (R-PA) report there are not enough votes for a gas tax increase this year.

The comments were made during a Bloomberg News event Monday. Particularly relevant is Shuster's statement that increasing the federal gas tax is not the solution to providing revenue for the Trust Fund this year since it was the first time the Chairman definitively ruled it out, saying that "economically, it's not the time."

Although Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Boxer is open to a gas tax increase in order to prevent the bankruptcy of the Highway Trust Fund, she said that it is likely untenable in the current environment. Until this point Boxer has been pushing for a transition to a wholesale tax collected at the refinery level.

Congressional Budget Office projections that were released Monday support what Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has been warning, that DOT might have to delay payments from the highway account in the latter part of fiscal 2014. Since 2008, Congress has transferred $54 billion into the Highway Trust Fund, mostly from the General Fund, to maintain solvency.

Of note, former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood believes Congress will not pass a highway and transit reauthorization before the November midterm elections and that a gas tax increase indexed to inflation is essential but only possible post midterm elections. LaHood said future highway funding is likely to be a user fee based on the number of miles driven (VMT).

NORA REAUTHORIZED IN FARM BILL
Retail SNAP Provision Also Included
This week, the Senate passed the Farm Bill conference report, H.R. 2642, by a bipartisan vote of 68 to 32, which ends a two year debate over U.S. farm policies. Last week, the House overwhelmingly passed the report by a vote of 251 to 166. The conference report cuts the federal deficit by $16.6 billion over ten years and includes a long sought PMAA legislative priority to reauthorize the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA). It was a very challenging uphill battle to have NORA included in the Farm Bill and we have a long list of thank you's to be sent to PMAA members and legislators.

Earlier this year, Reps. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced NORA reauthorization legislation, H.R. 1985. NORA companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME), S. 913. Established in 2000, NORA is funded by a check-off program that allows the industry to support and fund critical initiatives for oilheat businesses, technicians, and consumers. Without Congressional reauthorization, the oilheat industry would lose its ability to work cooperatively to provide efficient technologies that benefit consumers and to stay competitive in the marketplace. The program has already provided many benefits to the industry and its consumers by reducing oilheat consumption by 30 percent over the last decade – nearly $600 in annual savings per customer. Unfortunately, NORA expired in February 2010, but now that Congress passed the Farm Bill with NORA five year reauthorization legislative text included, the heating oil industry can move forward with funding for research, development and deployment of new ultra-efficient oilheating technologies such as biofuel-blended product.

Meanwhile, as reported last week, the conference report also contains a provision relating to convenience stores and their ability to accept SNAP benefits. It will require retailers to offer for sale on a continuous basis a variety of at least seven foods in each of the four categories (1. dairy products; 2. meat, poultry, or fish; 3. fruits or vegetables; 4. bread or cereals) (Current law requires only three items in each category.) It also requires SNAP retailers to stock at least one “perishable” food item in at least three of the four staple food categories. (Current law requires perishable items in only two of the staple food categories.) Finally, the conference report requires the use of point of sale equipment (scanning or item look up systems) that enforces item restrictions. The conference report represents a significant change from the Senate Farm Bill language which would essentially limit retailers from accepting SNAP benefits. A targeted grassroots campaign by PMAA and like-minded associations helped to water-down the Senate version’s SNAP legislative text.

The President has indicated he will sign the Farm Bill.

JANUARY 2014 PMAA SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE (SBC) PAC CONTRIBUTORS

PAC Co-Chairs Michael Fields and Gerry Ramm are grateful for the PMAA Small Business Committee (SBC) PAC contributions from the following individuals during the January 1 – 31 timeframe:

Arizona: Roy Bennett
Arkansas: Steven Ferren, Steve Turner
California: Matt Cullen, Mark Mitchell
Connecticut: Chris Herb
Idaho: Suzanne Budge
Illinois: Robert Allen, Rick Andrews, Grady Chronister, David Golwitzer, Jon Stewart, Kyle Vaubel, Gail Wade, Gerald Wagahoff
Iowa: David Flint, Robert Likes, Daniel Toale
Kansas: Tom Palace
Louisiana: Grady Gaubert
Michigan: Mark Griffin
Missouri: Mark Abel, Robert Abernathy, Rachel Andreasson, Steve Ayers, Ronald Bachman, Wayne Baker, Todd Badgley, Newell Baker, Robert Baker, David Braddock, John Blanton, Scott Blank, Wayne Compton, Grant Eble, Scott Frazier, Anthony Gier, James Greer, Christopher Kemph, Thomas Kolb, Gary Litzsinger, David Mangelsdorf, James Maurer, Stewart McIntyre, Donald McNutt, James McNutt, David Milligan, Joe Naegler, Chris Patterson, Janice Patterson, Richard Scrivener, Craig Taylor, Lynn Wallis, Rob Wilson, Laura Younghouse
Nebraska: Mark Lippincott
Nevada: Gregg Benson, Thomas Colrell
New Jersey: Lawrence Ray
New Mexico: Benny Hodges
North Carolina: Daniel Erwin
Oklahoma: Stephen James, Weister Smith
South Carolina: Sam Bell, Matthew Greene, Harper Shull, Steve Spinks
Tennessee: Mark McBride
Washington: Brad Bell, Gerry Ramm

ANNUAL EPCRA TIER II REPORTS FOR BULK PLANTS DUE BY MARCH 1, 2014

EPA EPCRA Tier II reports must be filed for bulk plants, marinas and fleet fueling facilities that stored more than 10,000 pounds (approx 1,626 gallons) of hazardous chemicals (petroleum fuels) at any single time during the 2013 calendar year. EPCRA reports must be filed with local or state emergency response authorities no later than March 1, 2014. In addition, retail facilities with a storage capacity greater than 75,000 gallons of gasoline and/or 100,000 gallons or more of diesel fuel must also file EPCRA reports. Federal regulations exempt retail fueling facilities at or below these capacity thresholds from the annual Tier II inventory reporting. Some states have set lower reporting thresholds, use unique Tier II reporting forms or require electronic reporting. Petroleum marketers should contact their state EPCRA office to verify any local variances in Tier II reporting requirements.

PAPER FORMS AND ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION SOFTWARE:

EPCRA Tier II forms may be downloaded by clicking here. Important! Many states now require electronic filing of Tier II reports.
Most states have adopted the EPA Tier2 Submit portal for electronic filing. Tier2 Submit electronic filing may be downloaded at: by clicking here.
Click here to download a complete list of state EPCRA Tier II requirements and procedures.

CAS NUMBERS: The following CAS designations (from material safety data sheets) must also be included on EPCRA Tier II reports; Gasoline (CAS 8006-61-9); Diesel Fuel (CAS 68476-34-6); Kerosene (CAS 8008-20-6); Fuel Oil (CAS 68476-30-2); Aviation Gasoline (CAS Mixture); Jet A (CAS Mixture); JP 8 (CAS Mixture).

NAICS CODE: Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes can no longer be used to describe facilities on EPCRA Tier II reports. Instead, North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes must be used. Applicable NAICS codes for the petroleum marketing industry include: Petroleum Bulk plants - NAICS 424710; Heating Oil Dealers - NAICS 454311; Retail Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores - NAICS 44711; Retail Gasoline Stations without Convenience Stores - NAICS 44719.

PENALTY FOR VIOLATION: The EPA fine for violating EPCRA Tier II reporting is $37,500 per day, per violation. EPA checks for filing of EPCA Tier II reports during routine compliance audits or after a release has occurred.

IMPORTANT! This year the Tier II Form requires additional data including; facility phone number, latitude and longitude coordinates of the facility and an estimate of the maximum number of people at the facility at any one time.

In addition, the new Tier II form asks whether the facility is subject to emergency planning under Section 302 of EPCRA (Toxic Release Inventory or TRI) or the chemical accident prevention requirements under 112r of the Clean Air Act (Risk Management Program or RMP). For small bulk plant operators the answer to these questions is almost always NO. Typically, small petroleum bulk plants operated by petroleum marketers located downstream of the terminal rack are NOT subject to TRI or RMP. While these small bulk plants must comply with Spill prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) this is not the same as TRI or RMP.

JANUARY 2014 PMAA MDF CONTRIBUTORS

PMAA’s Marketer Defense Fund wants to thank the following individuals for their contributions during the January 1- 31 timeframe:

Arizona: Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association
Colorado: Colorado Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association
Illinois: Leon Russell
Indiana: Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association
Kansas: Michael J. Murphy
Massachusetts: New England Fuel Institute
Missouri: Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association
Nebraska: Michael G. Stichko
North Dakota: North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association
Oklahoma: Oklahoma Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association
Oregon: Oregon Petroleum Association
Pennsylvania: Scott McCorry
Wisconsin: Robert Buhler

Corporate donations are acceptable. The monies raised for MDF are used for special projects, personnel and materials dedicated to strengthening our lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill.

PMAA PARTNER SPOTLIGHT FEATURING: WORLDPAY™
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING FOR BUSINESSES WEBINAR: February 12, 2014

As part of our efforts to offer you thought leadership content that is relevant to your business,in 2014 PMAA’s National Partner and Endorsed Vendor WorldPay FREE webinar series will include timely topics of interest to business owners throughout the year. Register Now for the first one in this series: Social Media Marketing for Businesses on February 12 from 2:00-3:00PM EST. Be on the lookout for future dates and registration details in this e-publication.

Ready to leverage social media for your business? Whether you are just getting started or want to learn how to be more efficient with your social media management, this webinar will give you advice and tips you can start using today. Learn about the essential steps you should take to engage with customers and prospects on social media.

Should you have any additional questions on this or any other petroleum solutions, please contact PMAA’s WorldPay Executive Client Manager, Glenda Preen at 972.325.1801.

PMAA MEMBER SERVICES SPOTLIGHT FEATURING: ELECTRIC CHECKS
Free Bounced Check Collection Service: A “no cost” solution for businesses with bad checks.

A check returned for non-sufficient funds not only delays the payment you receive for your goods and services, but also costs you time and money to take the bounced check to the bank in order to collect what’s rightfully yours. Often, the time and money it takes to collect the bad check is more than what is owed. That’s what makes our service a must for any business with a bad check.

There are several advantages to using our service rather than collecting the bad check yourself. Since the bounced check is resubmitted electronically, the check can be represented three times instead of the two allowed for paper checks by the bank (this means that a “Do Not Redeposit” check can be deposited one more time). We can also time the electronic representment around the days many people get paid (1st and 15th of the month). All these techniques improve the collection rate of your bounced check.

The service is free to you. Collected monies go straight into your bank account while Electric Checks collects its fees from the bad check writer’s account.

We are proud to be endorsed by the Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA). For further information about Electric Checks’ free bounced check collection service, please visit the PMAA’s webpage, email or call Electric Checks at 866-999-echecks (3243).

Checks are our Business, our only Business.

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