YOUR WEEKLY MEMBER NEWS LETTER:
is a service provided only to members of the Nebraska Petroleum Markers & Convenience Store Association (NPCA). If you have any key personnel that would like to be added at no additional charge, please feel free to reply to
tkeigher@npcainc.com, katie@npcainc.com or call (402)-474-6691.
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Thank You to NPCA's Partners
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Newly Designated Ozone Nonattainment Areas May Require RFG or Lower RVP
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On April 30, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated 51 additional counties in 22 states as ozone nonattainment areas. The Clean Air Act requires state air agencies to take steps to control ozone pollution in nonattainment areas based on the severity of the air quality problem at the time of designation. Severity classifications range from "marginal" to "extreme" as measured by air quality monitoring data. Two methods states may use to meet federal ozone emission standards are to mandate reformulated gasoline or impose lower RVP requirements for conventional gasoline during the summertime ozone season beginning June 1 through September 15 each year.
The EPA strengthened federal ozone standard in 2015 by lowering the attainment level for ground level ozone from 75 parts per billion to 70 parts per billion measured over an 8- hour period. Last November, EPA indicated that 85 percent or 2,646 counties nationwide would be in attainment with the new 70 parts per billion standard. The remaining 51 counties in designated as in nonattainment were not published until last week. Eight remaining counties in San Antonio, Texas area will be classified in July 2018, according to the EPA.
Nonattainment areas are required to meet the 70 parts per billion ozone standard as quickly as possible, but no later than the maximum attainment date associated with each classification. The maximum attainment date for each classification are:
- 3 years for marginal areas;
- 6 years for moderate areas;
- 9 years for serious areas;
- 15 years (or 17 years) for severe areas; and
- 20 years for extreme areas.
States must detail how they will comply with the 70 parts per billion standard in revised state air quality implementation plans (SIP) submitted to the EPA for approval. Areas classified as marginal are not required to submit plans demonstrating how they will meet the ozone standards but must meet the three-year maximum attainment date.
- To see a detail list of the newly designated nonattainment areas click here.
- To see a map of the newly designated nonattainment areas click here.
Contact Mark S. Morgan PMAA Regulatory Counsel, mmorgan@pmaa.org, for additional information or questions.
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This week, California and seventeen other states filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit over the EPA's push to ease fuel efficiency standards. In the lawsuit, the states stated that the EPA acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" in its consideration of lowering fuel efficiency standards. Joining California in the lawsuit were Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.
Last month, the EPA announced that it will not be renewing Obama-era Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for cars and light trucks when the program is scheduled to end in 2025. The Obama Administration initially set 50 miles per gallon (mpg) as an across the board fleet-wide target by 2025. However, the target will unlikely be met because the EPA announced that there will be a reduction in CAFE standards already in place for 2022 through 2025. According to a recent EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) draft proposal, the two agencies ae looking to freeze efficiency standards from model year 2020 through 2026 at 37 mpg.
The EPA has said it will try to reach an agreement with California on a single national standard, but California is intent on keeping the existing standards in place. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told lawmakers last week that he would not be going after California's ability to enforce its own fuel efficiency standards and looks forward to working with the state.
Meanwhile, a group of top automakers will be meeting with President Trump at the White House soon, although a date has not been set. One of the main topics of discussion will be the Trump Administration's ongoing battle with California over fuel efficiency standards for automobiles.
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GLW Scholarship Golf Outing
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June 14- York, NE
Come network with members of the industry and raise money for the George L. Watters Memorial Scholarship Golf Outing 11:30 Lunch 12:00pm Shot Gun Start Dinner to follow
Beverages on the Course & Dinner Sponsor:
Shrimp & 2 Hole Sponsor: 19th Hole Sponsor:
Lunch Co-Sponsors:
Hole Sponsors:
Altria, Bosselman Energy, Cenex, Cubby's,
ET Products,Federated Insurance,
Flint Hills Resources, Growmark, Hartland Fuels, LSI,
Midwest Pump & Equipment, Phillips 66,
RDG Geoscience & Engineering, RJ Reynolds, Shell Oil, Sinclair Oil, Western Oil
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The Future of the Forecourt: A Vision for 2040
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Today, 3 million electric vehicles (EVs) glide along the globe. In a little more than 20 years, that number could swell to more than 320 million, according to a recent forecast from BP.
Even so, EVs would still represent only about 15% of vehicles on the road. In the short term, gas is going nowhere.
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) will also see increased numbers but at a slower pace. More than 33 million AVs will be sold globally in 2040, according to researcher IHS Markit.
Today's roads are an oligarchy where gasoline-powered, human-driven cars are the only true players in personal transportation. But tomorrow's roads could be a vehicular democracy, with a mix of autonomous, electric, hydrogen, ethanol and gasoline. And three big forces will drive the most amount of change: regulators, private businesses and public transportation.
Consider this: The global car market is worth about $2 trillion per year, while the global personal transportation market is worth as much as $10 trillion, according to Morgan Stanley. AVs have the potential to blur the lines between these markets and improve others-regulation permitting. It's even disrupting the disruptors. Sebastian Thrun, an AV researcher at Stanford who led efforts to develop Google's first self-driving car, recently told The Economist that automation, competition and electrification will cut the costs of ride-hailing by 70%.
But these changes will not reach every market equally or simultaneously. Like real estate, the types of vehicles on the road will depend on one thing: location, location, location.
Illustrations by Gary Musgrave
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PMAA Participates in National Hurricane Response Exercise
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Yesterday, PMAA and Joe Bishop, who is the Director of Facilities and Maintenance with the Petroleum Marketing Group participated in a day long Department of Energy (DOE) "Clear Path" exercise to facilitate preparedness and emergency response operations.
Clear Path is a national exercise designed to address challenges by using a common scenario and incorporating recent hurricane response lessons and identifying obstacles that still need to be addressed. In this exercise a major hurricane is impacting the Mid-Atlantic region and power outages have shut down most retail gasoline stations. A 70-page situation manual was circulated on Wednesday for participants to study and prepare for the exercise.
Mr. Bishop and PMAA explained the complexity of marketing and of retail ownership in response to recommendations from other participants to "have a database showing which retail stations are open and how much fuel they have available." Joe Bishop was able to talk about the real world obstacles to obtaining information, particularly when 60 percent of retail stations are owned by single-store operators.
As PMAA has done with the Department of Transportation (DOT) FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez and in meetings with other government departments, PMAA discussed the weigh station delay problems that sometimes occurs and causes huge delays in fuel delivery. And worse still, drivers are sometimes wrongfully ticketed. This occurs when driving in pass through states to deliver fuel to a disaster area that has Hours of Service (HOS) waivers in place. Sometimes communication breaks down in the pass through states weigh stations wherein the drivers are legally exempt from HOS restrictions while on route to the emergency area but are wrongfully delayed and ticketed because weigh station employees do not understand that they are required to honor the HOS waiver that is in place for those drivers. Better communication with weigh stations is needed to address this and Administrator Martinez plans to discuss this during an upcoming meeting with his state FMCSA directors.
PMAA addressed the need for further efficiencies in the waivers processes. Furthermore, PMAA explained that there is a national truck driver shortage which becomes particularly severe during disasters and is detrimental to the timely delivery of fuel in disaster areas. PMAA also explained that price gouging is almost always just a perception that is reflective of the volatility of the market during national disasters.
PMAA will continue to cover the needs of petroleum marketers in the ongoing national dialogue on emergency response and in the continued growth of the emergency response industry.
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When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1991 it looked like a public-spirited statute to assist the disabled with public accommodations. Over the years, however, it became a tool for trial lawyers to harass and sue business owners with "drive by actions." Recent legislative and judicial developments may diminish this trend.
Last week, the 11th Circuit Court of appeals ruled that a plaintiff who had sued a store for violation of the ADA, lacked standing to sue because she lived 175 miles from the store and was unlikely to return. Similar rulings in MD and other venues buttress this trend.
Meanwhile, the House passed H.R. 620, the " ADA Education and Reform Act" to address this and other trumped up litigation matters. H.R. 620 requires Plaintiffs' counsel to provide defendants with: the property address, the specific ADA section(s) allegedly violated, whether a request to remove the architectural barrier was made and whether the barrier was temporary or permanent. H.R. 620 also prohibits filing suit to remove the barrier unless the putative plaintiff with specifics concerning the barrier and the store owner has failed to respond with the actions it has taken to address the situation. Unfortunately, the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate given that 60 votes is needed to pass the bill. With the GOP holding a slim 51-49 majority, nine Senate democrats would need to join Republicans.
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