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OPMCA Connection
Keeping You Informed!
OPMCA Connection keeps you informed and current on regulations from all state and national agencies as well as laws pertaining to the petroleum marketing/c-store industry.
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OPMCA STAFF
Candace McGinnis
Executive Director
Candace@opmca4you.com
Hannah Fite
Director of Member Services
Hannah@opmca4you.com
OPMCA
6420 N. Santa Fe, Suite B
Oklahoma City, OK 73116
Phone: (405) 842-6625
(800) 256-5013
Fax: (405) 842-9562
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2019-2020 Board of Directors
Jerry Davidson, Chairman
Pete's Corporation
Tommy Shreffler
OnCue Marketing, LLC
Teresa Hollenbeck
Red Rock Distributing Company
Kurtis Hutchinson
Hutchinson Oil Company
Jason Flinn
Flowers Oil Company
Rob Toth
Coffeyville Resource
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OPMCA is headed to a town near you in November 2019! We will be traveling to various Oklahoma locations to meet and discuss current topics with the membership. Lunch is complimentary with a $20.00 personal donation (cash or check) to the OPMCA PAC.
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Dates and Locations:
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019
Tulsa
Lunch at The Vault
620 S. Cincinnati Ave.,
Tulsa, OK 74119
11:30AM - 1:00PM
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019
Ada
Lunch at Roma Italian Restaurant
1168 N. Hills Shopping Ctr.,
Ada, OK 74820
11:30AM - 1:00PM
Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019
Weatherford
Lunch at Lucille's Roadhouse
1301 N. Airport Rd,
Weatherford, OK 73096
11:30AM - 1:00PM
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019
Oklahoma City
Lunch at Charleston's Restaurant
224 Johnny Bench Dr.,
Oklahoma City, OK 73104
11:30AM - 1:00PM
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019
Enid
Lunch at Oakwood Country Club
1601 N. Oakwood Rd,
Enid, OK 73703
11:30AM - 1:00PM
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- Petroleum Marketers Equipment Co. Turns 50!
- Congratulations OPMCA Member Aaron Littlefield on being Elected 2020 PMAA Chair of the Board
- Registration Period Opens for Mandatory Use of FMCSA Online Database for CDL Driver Drug and Alcohol Violations
- New Federal E15 Policy Benefits Ethanol Producers at the Expense of Retail Marketers
- SBLC Webinar on Overtime Rules
- Federated Insurance Complimentary Webinar
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Petroleum Marketers Equipment Co. Turns 50!
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Congratulations to our members, Petroleum Marketers Equipment Company, on their 50th anniversary! They had a wonderful celebration to commemorate their huge success.
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Owner, Bryan Newcomb, at the celebration held in Oklahoma City.
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It isn't a celebration without a cake, and this completely edible cake was a hit!
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Congratulations OPMCA Member Aaron Littlefield on being Elected 2020 PMAA Chair of the Board
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Aaron Littlefield, Littlefield Oil Company, Fort Smith, Arkansas, was elected 2020 PMAA Chair of the Board during PMAA’s recent Fall Meeting at the NACS Show in Atlanta, Georgia. In accepting the position, Aaron thanked the Board of Directors for their confidence in him and outlined some of his goals and objectives for next year which include improving efforts to educate the public and lawmakers about the important role liquid fuels serve in the marketplace. Littlefield wants to find ways to unite the liquid fuels industry behind one vision to power America into the future and to tell the story of how the liquid fuels industry has added to the well-being of every American.
Serving alongside Mr. Littlefield includes PMAA Vice Chair Jimm Cross, Cross Petroleum, Redding, California, and Tommy Thompson, Thompson Energy, LLC, Dalton, Georgia who was elected PMAA Second Vice Chair. Four region leaders were also elected to the PMAA Executive Committee include Jim Lipscomb, Southeast Region Chair; Jason Mirabito, Northeast Region Chair; Frank Marcello, North Central Region Chair; Steve Ferren, South Central Association Executive and Jay Cattoor, North Central Region Chair.
Aaron Littlefield III is the President of Littlefield Oil Company in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The company was founded in 1946 by Aaron’s grandfather and great uncle, A.B. Littlefield and W.C. Littlefield. From humble beginnings as a single-bay gasoline station in Booneville, Arkansas, the company’s footprint now ranges from Arkansas into Oklahoma and Missouri.
Aaron took the reins in 2013 as the third-generation leader of the company. He had been in the fuel business his entire life, but also has overseen the company ventures into convenience stores, real estate holdings, trucking and propane.
In addition to PMAA, Aaron has held the positions of:
- Board of Directors and past President - Arkansas Oil Marketers Association
- Board of Directors - Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce
- Board of Directors – Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority
- Advisory Board to the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine
- NACS Legislative Committee
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PMAA Compliance Bulletin:
Registration Period Opens for Mandatory Use of FMCSA Online Database for CDL Driver Drug and Alcohol Violations
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The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has announced that online registration is now open for the Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Online Clearinghouse Database. The Clearinghouse is a secure online, searchable electronic database where all CDL driver drug and alcohol violations will now be posted. The Clearinghouse will provide employers, CDL drivers, medical review officers (MRO), substance abuse professionals (SAP), state driver licensing agencies (SDLA) and enforcement authorities real-time information about CDL drivers drug and alcohol program violations. The Clearinghouse will contain records of violations of drug and alcohol prohibitions, including positive drug or alcohol test results, test refusals, completion of return-to-duty (RTD) process and follow-up testing plan. CDL drivers, employers, MROs, SAPs and SDLAs must all register to use the database.
The Clearinghouse mandate does not change any existing U.S. DOT drug and alcohol testing regulations or procedures other than to require use of the online database to comply with existing drug and alcohol regulations. Employer use of the Clearinghouse database is required for pre-employment CDL driver record investigation; annual drug and alcohol investigations for all current CDL employees; to upload driver drug and alcohol violations; and return to duty status records. Congress required the FMCSA to create and implement the Clearinghouse under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (Pub. L. 112-141, 126 Stat. 405).
1. EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES
The Clearinghouse will offer employers (or their third-party assignees) a centralized location to query driver information and report drug and alcohol program violations incurred by their
current and prospective employees holding CDLs and/ commercial driver learners permit. The employer must use the CDL driver drug and alcohol violation Clearinghouse to:
- Register online to access the Clearinghouse database.
- Search the Clearinghouse as part of each pre-employment driver investigation process.
- Conduct limited annual queries for every driver they employ.
- Request electronic consent from the driver for a full query, including preemployment queries.
- Report drug and alcohol program violations.
- Record the negative return-to-duty (RTD) test results and the date of successful completion of a follow-up testing plan for any driver they employ with unresolved drug and alcohol program violations.
2. SEARCHING THE CLEARINGHOUSE DATABASE
Employers can conduct two types of queries on the Clearinghouse database:
- Limited Query - A limited query allows an employer to determine if an individual driver’s Clearinghouse record has any information about resolved or unresolved drug and alcohol program violations but does not release any specific violation information contained in the driver’s Clearinghouse record. Limited queries require only a general driver consent, which is obtained outside the Clearinghouse. This general consent is not required on an annual basis. It may be effective for more than one year. However, the limited consent request must be in writing, and specify the duration of the consent period.
- The limited query meets the annual drug and alcohol record check requirements all employers must already conduct for CDL drivers.
- Full Query - A full query allows the employer to see detailed information about any drug and alcohol program violations in a driver’s Clearinghouse record. An employer must obtain the driver’s electronic consent in the Clearinghouse prior to the release of detailed violation information during the full query. o The full query meets the federal pre-employment drug and alcohol violations search employers must conduct before hiring a CDL driver.
The Clearinghouse database will only contain new driver drug and alcohol information occurring after January 6, 2020. Manual record investigation must continue to reach back three years for pre-employment or one year for annual employee driver record check already required by the DOT regulations. A fact sheet on Clearinghouse database searches may be found here:
Clearinghouse Queries.
3. USER QUERY FEE
- Query Fee – The FMCSA is charging a flat $1.25 rate for each query. The FMCSA is charging a flat $1.25 rate for each query. Query purchase plans may be purchased here: Query Purchase Plans.
4. CLEARINGHOUSE REGISTRATION
Employers must register with the Clearinghouse database before searching and /or uploading driver information. Employers must follow a two-step registration process:
- Federal “login.gov” Registration - The first registration step requires employers to obtain a secure federal government login account. The secure login account will help ensure that the information in the Clearinghouse remains secure and private. Login accounts may be obtained here: Secure Login Account.
- Clearinghouse Registration – Once employers obtain a secure login account the must register with the Clearinghouse here: Clearinghouse Registration.
5. ASSIGNING THIRD PARTIES TO SEARCH AND UPLOAD DRIVER INFORMATION
Once registered, employers may designate a consortium/third-party administrator (C/TPA) to access the Clearinghouse on your behalf (Drug and Alcohol Testing Vendors)
- Third Party Assignment - Employers, consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs), medical review officers (MROs), and substance abuse professionals (SAPs) must identify an individual for their company to serve as a Clearinghouse Administrator. These Clearinghouse Administrators have the option to invite users to serve in an Assistant role, enabling them to use the Clearinghouse on their company’s behalf.
6. DRIVER RESPONSIBILITIES
Drivers must register with the Clearinghouse in order to:
- Check Records – Drivers must register with the clearing house to check their drug and alcohol driving record and be able to contest incorrect entries.
- Provide Consent – Drivers must register to provide electronic consent for prospective employers to conduct pre employment drug and alcohol records search.
7. COMPLIANCE DEADLINE
- Employers and drivers must register with the FMCSA drug and alcohol Clearinghouse no later than January 6, 2020.
- Employers and drivers may register with the Clearinghouse starting October 11, 2019.
- Employers and/or their third-party designees must begin using the database for pre -employment investigations on January 6, 2020.
- Employers will no longer to be required to conduct manual pre-employment driver drug and alcohol investigations once three years of testing and/or violation data is stored in the Clearinghouse. Manual pre-employment investigation will no longer be required after January 6, 2023. • Employers and/or third-party designees, medical review officers, and substance abuse professionals must begin uploading driver drug and alcohol violations on January 6, 2020.
It is highly recommended that employers, drivers, drug and alcohol testing vendors and substance abuse professionals register now with the Clearinghouse rather than wait for the January 6, 2020 registration deadline.
8. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- For additional information on the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse go to https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov
- Mark. S. Morgan, PMAA Regulatory Counsel at (202) 364-6767 or mmorgan@pmaa.org
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New Federal E15 Policy Benefits Ethanol Producers at the Expense of Retail Marketers
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The Trump administration is set to announce a new renewable fuels policy designed to make E15 the dominant gasoline blend nationwide. Specifically, the administration proposes to reallocate lost blend volumes exempted under small refinery waivers to large refiners. Since 2017, small refinery waivers have removed billions of gallons from annual biofuels blending mandates under the RFS program. The waivers play a large role in preventing a de facto E15 mandate by keeping volumetric blending requirements more closely aligned with actual consumer demand.
The administration is proposing to retroactively reallocate waived gallons from 2017 forward. Forcing waived volume back into the market is likely to drive up the value of RINs needed to offset unmet blending obligations. In turn, this is likely to provide an incentive for a select group of retailers to blend ethanol and call it “unleaded88” at the pump.
More importantly for petroleum marketers, the new proposal is likely to allow E15 to be sold from UST systems potentially containing components that are not compatible with the higher ethanol blends. Unfortunately, such blanket approval does nothing to eliminate marketer liability for releases due to E15 sold from noncompatible UST systems. Nor will it eliminate UST compatibility demonstration requirements mandated by federal and state underground storage tank programs and state and local fire marshal laws. Further such an approval threatens marketers’ eligibility for corrective action cost recovery from state tank funds and private UST insurance policies. In addition, state tank funds, which are crucial to meet marketer financial assurance requirements, are likely to be pushed into insolvency as claims mount for E15 releases from noncompatible UST systems.
The new policy would only place marketers at a competitive disadvantage due to the potentially significant costs to upgrade or modify the configuration of equipment to sell E15, in addition to increasing liability risk for marketers and expose motorists to confusion and possibly misfuelling at the pump with E15 labeled as “unleaded88.” The new RFS policy comes on the heels of a recent rule allowing the year-round sale of E15 nationwide. Both are designed to placate upset corn farmers and ethanol producers for short term political benefit rather than advancing a coherent, long term, market driven energy policy.
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SBLC Webinar on Overtime Rules
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The Small Business Legislative Council (SBLC) will be holding a webinar regarding the new final overtime regulations on Thursday, October 24
th at 12:30pm eastern. The webinar will provide an overview of the DOL’s newly released overtime rules and recommendations for businesses on what steps they need to take before the rules go into effect on January 1, 2020.
This live webinar is free of charge courtesy of PMAA. When registering, please type “PMAA” at the bottom of the registration page when asked: Which SBLC member association are you affiliated with?
After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing information about joining the webinar.
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Registration Now Open!
Federated Insurance is offering complimentary risk management training for all industries on
November 5-7, 2019. Through this valuable session, you will discover methods you can use immediately to help protect profits by reducing risk at your business.
Companies that are the most successful at controlling losses and protecting profits have integrated risk management into their overall company culture. Many have designated a key person as their risk manager. This person is supported by your company’s top management and is both responsible and accountable for identifying loss exposures and implementing risk management solutions.
This seminar’s objective is to help your risk manager learn the exposures specific to All Industries, connect with peers from across the country and apply these best practices within your business.
“Attending this training is one of the best investments you can make to help protect your business and its bottom line!” 2019 RMA Attendee
You can learn more by viewing a brief
video about the Risk Management Academy. To
reserve your spot in the upcoming session or for more information, please contact Royetta Spurgeon at rlspurgeon@fedins.com or (800)533-0472 Ext. 455-5604. Or, visit
Federated's website.
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Federated Insurance Complimentary Webinar
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Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire: Fire Prevention Strategies
Tuesday, October 15, 2019 (1 PM CT)
30 minutes | Complimentary | Advance registration required
A fire could NEVER happen to me! This is a common thought among many businesses today. Unfortunately, they don't realize until after a devastating blaze, that simple strategies could prevent most fires. This presentation focuses on steps a business should take to help prevent disastrous fire losses. Also on the agenda are steps a business can take to help expedite recovery and resume serving customers as quickly as possible.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
- Owners/Officers
- Operations Management
- Risk Managers
- HR Professionals
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
- Analyze the main causes of fire across all industries
- Address these fire risks through consistent risk management
- Prepare for fire or other disasters to get your business back up and running to serve your customers
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