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| November 22, 2017 [WR-17-46] |
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Sponsored by Valero Marketing & Supply
who generously supports PMAA’s work in our Nation’s Capital. |
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| Quick Links to Articles for November 22, 2017 |
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EPA Publishes 2015 NAAQS Designations for Ozone
SBLC Releases Tax Reform Analysis
PMAA’s Washington Conference 2018 Hotel Reservations are Open
FDA Releases New Age-Verification Program for Retailers
Keystone XL Pipeline Passes Major Regulatory Hurdle
New Electronic Log Book Requirement for Recording Drivers Hours of Service (HOS)
Federated’s Risk Management Corner: Don’t Let Your Business Go Up in Smoke
PMAA Corporate Platinum Partner Spotlight Featuring: Renewable Energy Group, Inc.
PMAA Corporate Gold Partner Spotlight Featuring: Patriot Capital |
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| Articles for November 17, 2017 |
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EPA Publishes 2015 NAAQS Designations for Ozone
Last Thursday, the EPA published attainment designations under the 2015 ozone standard. The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) designations will go into effect approximately 60 days from November 16.
The EPA certified that 2,646 counties, two tribal areas and five territories, or about 85 percent of the nation’s counties, meet the new standard of 70 parts per billion of ozone in ambient air, down from the previous 75 parts per billion. However, the agency stopped short of saying which areas of the country do not meet the Obama administration’s 2015 regulation on ozone.
After the EPA failed to delay the process by another year over the summer, the EPA was required under the Clean Air Act to make all the decisions by Oct. 1, but missed the deadline. In a statement, EPA said that “in the spirit of cooperative federalism, EPA will continue to work with states and the public to help areas with underlying technical issues, disputed designations, and/or insufficient information.” The statement also said that “EPA modeling, state agency comments, and peer-reviewed science indicate international emissions and background ozone can contribute significantly to areas meeting attainment thresholds. The agency intends to address these areas in a separate future action.”
SBLC Releases Tax Reform Analysis
The Small Business Legislative Council (SBLC) released a comparison summary of the House passed tax reform package and the Senate Finance Committee passed version. Click here to read the analysis. PMAA sits on the SBLC Board of Directors and provides input on tax related issues facing petroleum marketers.
PMAA’s Washington Conference 2018 Hotel Reservations are Open
PMAA’s annual Washington Conference and Day on the Hill will be held in our Nation’s Capital of Washington, DC from May 16-18. Our industry continues to have dozens of important legislative and regulatory issues to discuss and the Day on the Hill continues to be the primary focus of this conference.
The meeting will begin with an Opening Session / Issues Briefing and Region meetings in the afternoon of May 16. Our welcome reception, including the popular PAC silent auction fundraiser, concludes the day! On the morning of May 17, marketers will head to Capitol Hill for visits with their Congressional delegations after a buffet breakfast and issues briefing for those who were not able to attend the opening session. It is not too early to make your Congressional appointments. There will be a hospitality suite and luncheon on the Hill. On the evening of May 17, we will honor our 2018 PMAA Chair Mark McBride. Our conference will conclude after the PMAA Board of Directors meet on May 18 following a buffet breakfast and committee meetings.
You can find all available details for Washington Conference and Day on the Hill here. We will be creating our Cvent website for this meeting over the coming months. Registration will open in early 2018 and will be posted on this page and announced in this Weekly Review.
Please make your plans now to attend this important and productive forum to meet with your members of Congress and network with other marketers from across the country! See you in DC in the spring!
FDA Releases New Age-Verification Program for Retailers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has unveiled a new age-verification program for retailers that provides a full toolkit of resources, including posters, stickers, age verification tools and more to help retailers comply with federal tobacco regulations. Click here for more information.
Keystone XL Pipeline Passes Major Regulatory Hurdle
Still Ultimate Development of the Pipeline is Not Certain
With a 3-2 vote this week, the Nebraska Public Service Commission approved the Keystone XL Pipeline, thereby clearing the last big regulatory hurdle for the project.
The 1,200-mile, $8 million pipeline would ship crude oil from Canada to refineries along the Gulf Coast. The approval comes as TransCanada is in the midst of its clean-up operations in South Dakota, where the original Keystone Pipeline ruptured last week and released 210,000 gallons of oil. Nebraska law barred regulators from considering spills or safety in its decision-making process so that was not the detriment that some thought it might be.
Enthusiasm for the project has fizzled a bit due to the ridiculous delays by the Obama Administration and environmental groups. Furthermore, U.S. oil production will average more than 9 million barrels a day this year, nearly double what it was when TransCanada first proposed the pipeline, causing some refineries to pull out of the region to concentrate on U.S. oil shale development in Texas. The pipeline is not ready to be built since TransCanada is gauging whether enough companies will commit to the 20-year contracts required to reserve space on it. The earliest construction on the pipeline will begin is in 2019.
In addition, there is a pending lawsuit that was filed following the Trump Administration’s approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline in March. A coalition of groups is arguing the State Department did not do due diligence before approving the pipeline, with government attorneys saying a federal judge has no authority to second-guess a presidential permit. The case is still in the beginning stages, with a decision pending from the U.S. District Court of Montana on a Trump Administration motion to dismiss.
PMAA strongly supports development of the Keystone XL Pipeline which has already had more than nine years of debate and multiple environmental impact studies that have shown the pipeline would have no effect on climate change. Even former Obama Administration EPA Chief Gina McCarthy said that the pipeline would not be a disaster for the climate as some environmentalists have argued.
New Electronic Log Book Requirement for Recording Drivers Hours of Service (HOS)
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) deadline for compliance with electronic logging device (ELD) requirements for recording driver’s daily hours of service (HOS) is December 16, 2017. The ELD rule was mandated by Congress as part of the 2012 transportation authorization and funding law known as Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The law directs the FMCSA to require all CDL drivers who currently keeping written hours of service log books to switch to electronic recording devices. The FMCSA promulgated a final rule implementing the ELD mandate back in 2015. Efforts by industry stakeholders to rescind or delay the ELD mandate have failed thus far, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. PMAA is currently requesting an expansion of the 100-air mile radius exemption from keeping written log books to a 300 air-mile radius. This would expand the exemption from using ELDs to a larger class of short haul drivers. The final rule contains many exemptions to the ELD requirement and provides an extended compliance deadline of December 16, 2019 for those drivers already using automatic onboard recording devices (AOBRDS) to log hours of service.
There is a lot of conflicting information circulating around the industry from a variety of sources that is incomplete, inaccurate, and even misleading. It is important for petroleum marketers to fully understand the requirements of the EDL rule, including the exemptions and the flexibility it provides to make compliance less onerous in terms of both time and money.
Click here for PMAA’s Regulatory Counsel Mark Morgan’s detail analysis on the ELD mandate.
Federated’s Risk Management Corner: Don’t Let Your Business Go Up in Smoke
Fires that hit businesses come in all sizes. They can occur anytime, anywhere, and from a variety of causes. They don’t discriminate. Spontaneous combustion, heating and electrical systems, smoking, poor housekeeping, the storage of flammables, and mechanical equipment failure continue to be the most frequent fire causes across all industries, and are often the result of missed opportunities to recognize and remove the hazard. But sometimes, hazards can be easy to miss:
- A company employee was doing some cleaning with a mop and cleaning chemicals. Those two things in combination spontaneously combusted.
The point is, business owners need to be ready for almost anything. There’s no doubt that fires are devastating and have implications far beyond property damage. Please click here to read the article in its entirety.
For additional information or to discuss further, please contact your Federated regional representative or PMAA’s National Account Executive Jerry Leemkuil at 800.533.0472. Federated is a PMAA Corporate Platinum Partner.
PMAA Corporate Platinum Partner Spotlight Featuring: Renewable Energy Group, Inc.
Helping you succeed in an evolving fuel landscape.
REG is more than North America’s leading producer of biodiesel. We’re also a pioneer and an innovator in the renewable fuels industry. We trace our history back more than 20 years, and today we have 14 active biorefineries and an extensive network of terminals to meet the production and supply needs of our customers. Our technical expertise makes us an industry leader in innovative solutions like feedstock flexibility, distilled biodiesel and the blending of biodiesel with renewable hydrocarbon diesel.
We also ensure our customers get the most benefits possible from biodiesel by staying up to date on the latest government regulations, incentives and other important policy issues. Whether you need a truckload at spot prices or railcar supplies for a long-term contract, REG will help you integrate biodiesel into your business and help you meet your renewable fuel goals.
For additional information about Renewable Energy Group, Inc., please visit or contact Jon Scharingson. Renewable Energy Group is a PMAA Corporate Platinum Partner.
PMAA Corporate Gold Partner Spotlight Featuring: Patriot Capital
Bonus Depreciation scheduled to fall to 40 percent in 2018
There is a lot of discussion around what will happen with the tax code in the coming months. If there are no changes, Bonus Depreciation limits are scheduled to change effective January 2018. The tax strategy applies to total equipment purchases between $500,000 and $2 million in a year. The current provision allows 50 percent of this amount to be deducted in the current year. In 2018, this amount will drop to 40 percent, and 30 percent in 2019 based on the current rules.
For a business in a 40 percent tax bracket spending $2 million in capital equipment, the difference could be over $50,000 in first year tax benefits. If the tax act passes as currently configured, after tax costs could increase more substantially.
For further information, please contact Richard Browne, Patriot Capital at 404-977-1251. Patriot Capital is a PMAA Corporate Gold Partner. Patriot Capital does not provide tax advice, please consult your tax professional for advice related to your specific situation. |
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