February 19, 2021
FMCSA Issues Emergency Waiver
Yesterday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a Regional Emergency Declaration in response to the arctic blast and severe ice storm impacting much of the United States. The Emergency Declaration waives hours of service requirements for the transportation of propane, among other commodities, to those customers in Ohio impacted by the severe weather. The declaration is in effect in 33 states and the District of Columbia until March 4, 2021.

Note: the hours of service waiver issued by Governor Holcomb remains in place though February 28. That order can be found here.

The regional waiver applies not only to propane deliveries (to plants and customers) within Indiana, but this waiver also covers interstate deliveries as well. The federal declaration, and similarly state declarations, apply to the end point of deliveries. If you are delivering fuel to a location under an emergency declaration, your route is covered by the declaration.  
Guidance on emergency declarations and waivers by the National Association of State Energy Officials is available here. Please direct any questions to or share new information with Sarah Reboli, NPGA Senior Director of Regulatory & Industry Affairs.

 The IPGA is grateful to the NPGA for its work in obtaining this regional waiver.
Enbridge, State of Michigan Will Seek Dismissal Of Each Other's Suits
Enbridge Energy and the State of Michigan will each seek to dismiss the others' lawsuit over Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s decision to revoke the 1953 easement agreement allowing the operation of the Line 5 dual pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Janet Neff held a pre-motion conference, which court staff said was not open to the public, where both sides discussed their separate lawsuits against the other. Today, Neff issued an order outlining deadlines for court filings.

The state has until March 17 to file its motion seeking to remand its lawsuit against the Canadian company to the Ingham County Circuit Court.

Both sides told the court that they will file briefs seeking to dismiss the other's lawsuit based on failure to state claim, which essentially means a failure to present sufficient presumed facts indicating a violation of law occurred. The state also will argue sovereign immunity, which means the government can't be sued without its consent.
Governor Holcomb Signs Bill Protecting Businesses
Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill Thursday that would provide businesses civil immunity from frivolous coronavirus-related lawsuits. The bill does provide exceptions to civil immunity for "gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct."
Get Immediate Access to Your CETP Certificates
Industry employees no longer have to wait weeks to receive certificates for completing Certified Employee Training Program (CETP) training. 
 
Effective immediately, all earned CETP certificates will be stored electronically on The Learning Center within the Transcript page of each user’s account. From there they can be downloaded and printed at any time. 
 
The change is expected to improve accuracy and reduce costs and the time of processing certificates through a vendor. All processing and mailing of paper certificates are discontinued. 
 
For questions or assistance about the change, call 1-800-757-1554 or use the Need Help button located on The Learning Center page.
Clean Energy Growth Proves Resilient Through 2020
The Sustainable Energy in America Factbook – produced annually for the Business Council for Sustainable Energy by BloombergNEF — provides valuable year-over-year data and insights on the American energy transformation and progress of energy efficiency, natural gas and renewable energy sectors.

Despite the major headwinds of 2020, how the U.S. produces, delivers, and consumes hydrocarbons, electrons and heat marched onward. In fact, some key clean energy trends established over the last decade accelerated in 2020. Expand your understanding of U.S. energy transformation by clicking here.
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The information contained herein is provided as a service by the Indiana Propane Gas Association (IPGA) for the purpose of education, communication, and information and IPGA accepts no liability relative to the contents, accuracy or use of these services. Nothing in this publication is intended to be construed as legal advice. The user is strictly cautioned to seek legal assistance when attempting to determine any legal rights, responsibilities and procedures with respect to business affairs, coding, or other legal aspects of operating a propane company. IPGA disclaims any and all liability for injury and/or other damages which result to a user from the material offered or discussed herein.
Indiana Propane Gas Association
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