or

In addition, the following label must be posted on all blocked pumps that sell clear, untaxed kerosene:

EMA Staff Contact: Mark S. Morgan, Regulatory Counsel mmorgan@emamerica.org.

It’s that time of year again for energy marketers to start preparing EPCRA Tier II reports for any facility storing petroleum during the 2020 calendar year. The Emergency Preparedness and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986 was created to help communities plan for and respond to chemical emergencies by requiring facilities to report the type and amount of hazardous chemicals they store on-site.

EPCRA Tier II reports must be filed with local and/or state emergency response authorities (typically the Fire Marshal) no later than March 1, 2021. Bulk plant facilities that stored over 10,000 pounds of petroleum products onsite on any given day during calendar year 2020 must file EPCRA Tier II. The 10,000 pounds compliance trigger is calculated by combining the volume of all petroleum on site in every storage container including: above ground and underground bulk storage tanks, portable skid tanks, 55-gallon drums and even heating fuel or propane tanks used to heat facility buildings. However, retail gasoline facilities with 75,000 gallons or less of gasoline storage capacity and 100,000 gallons or less of diesel fuel storage capacity are exempt from EPCRA reporting requirements. Retail fueling sites with storage capacity over these thresholds are not exempt and must file an EPCRA Tier II report.

Instructions on how to file EPCRA Tier II reports can be found in the EMA Compliance Bulletin here. The Compliance bulletin contains: EPCRA Tier II forms; instructions on electronic filing; gallons to pounds conversion charts for the most common fuels; NAICS identification numbers for the petroleum industry; health and physical harm reporting characteristics for petroleum products; and links to Dun and Bradstreet number locator; where to file EPCRA Tier II reports links; EPCRA tutorial links; links to all state EPCRA authorities, as well as to the U.S. EPA EPCRA website. 

A couple of weeks ago, the FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) released new information regarding the number of premarket tobacco product applications (PMTA) it received by the September 9, 2020 deadline. Unfortunately, the FDA has yet to publish a list of all products for which PMTAs were received by the September deadline. According to the FDA, it has processed PMTAs for more than 4.8 million products from 230 companies and processing is still ongoing given the size, complexity and diversity of applications it received. Meanwhile, the FDA completed the processing step for all exemptions from substantial equivalence requests (EX REQ) and substantial equivalence (SE) reports. Click here for the deemed new tobacco product applications list that were on the market as of August 8, 2016, are currently marketed and submitted via the SE or EX REQ pathways by the September deadline. Click here to read the story from CSP Daily News.

Under a court order from the District Court of Maryland, e-cigarette products that were on the market prior to August 8, 2016, were required to submit PMTA's for the FDA to review and approve by the September 9, 2020 deadline. PMTA's require a product to meet a regulatory hurdle that can be complex and costly. E-cigarette products will be permitted to stay on the market for one year while the agency reviews the applications, or until the agency rejects them. By the FDA providing a public list of e-cigarette products that meet the proper requirements, retailers of these products will be informed as to which they can sell legally in their stores.

The Energy Marketers of America, the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO), the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA) and the Food Industry Association (FMI) submitted a letter to the FDA urging it to release a list of approved e-cigarette products.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) granted an immediate regional Hours of Service waiver for the following states due to winter storms: ARKANSAS, CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, IOWA, KANSAS, KENTUCKY, LOUISIANA, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, MINNESOTA, MISSISSIPPI, MISSOURI, MONTANA, NEBRASKA, NEW JERSEY, NEW MEXICO, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, NORTH DAKOTA, OHIO, OKLAHOMA, OREGON, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, SOUTH DAKOTA, TENNESSEE, TEXAS, VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA, WISCONSIN AND WYOMING.

The emergency declaration applies to all states and jurisdictions listed in the letter. This waiver covers all fuel deliveries (heating fuels, including propane, natural gas, and heating oil, and other fuel products, including gasoline) in the states and jurisdictions listed because they support the "emergency" which in this case is maintaining adequate fuel distribution in those areas.

Important: The FMCSA waiver covers interstate shipment of fuel in and out of the states and jurisdictions listed in the waiver letter. The FMCSA waiver does not cover intrastate only shipments (deliveries that stay within the boundaries of a single state). State governors must issue waivers for intrastate shipments within their boundaries. State Governors typically issue such waivers as part of their Emergency Declaration, or when FMCSA waivers are put into effect. Most of these states have already issued intrastate HOS waivers. Click here to read the notice.

The Energy Marketers of America will continue to work closely with the FMCSA, DOE, DHS/FEMA and other federal agencies to ensure emergency preparedness and response waivers and solutions to problems that arise in response to the recent winter storms.

Employers need to understand the rules on mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for its workforce. While an employer can require its employees to get the vaccine before returning to work, several exceptions exist. The two major exceptions are for employees with ADA disabilities and employees with sincere religious beliefs. Employees represented by unions may also have additional protections.

Click here for more information from Paley Rothman, counsel to the Small Business Legislative Counsel (SBLC).

1. Develop a simple list of your present business sectors.  Your list might include tank wagon farm business, tanker dealer business, residential propane, real estate development, heating oil business, etc. Most marketers’ current accounting divisions are too broad, so get more detailed. For instance, you may have tank wagon business to commercial accounts, and tank wagon deliveries to farm accounts, which are currently together in your tank wagon division. Because those markets are very distinct and separate, however, keep them distinct and separate on your list.

2. Assign a current profit rating to each sector. For simplicity sake, we’ll use an expedient yet effective -5 through 5 ranking system. A “5” rating means that sector is highly profitable, a “0” rating puts it at breakeven and a “-5” rating means that sector is currently losing money (big money!). All the numbers in between –5 and +5 are available for you to use at your discretion. Rate by net profit after all costs, not just gross profit.

3. Assign a current market share percentage to each sector.  This will take some educated guesswork to determine how much of the total market you are capturing in each sector. For instance, you might estimate that you have only 10% of the ag tank wagon market, but have a 50% market share of local dealer contracts. It will be difficult to get hard factual data, so just use best instincts on this step.

4. Determine market growth trends for each sector. Now you want to look at the actual market areas and whether those markets are growing or shrinking. You will have only three choices and will use simple arrow indicators. If the market is growing, indicate that with an up arrow (↑), if the market is declining, use a down arrow (↓) and if the market is stable with no growth or decline, use a flat line (--).

5. Assign a risk rating to each sector. For this final step you will assign a risk rating to each sector, using RRR for highest risk, RR for moderate risk, R for low risk, and S for safe or no risk. Think in terms of financial risk. Do you have investment risk – lots of capital required up front? Or legal risk?  Or risk of not being paid?