10.13.2010
EPA Approves 15% Ethanol Despite Industry and Environmental Concerns
EPA has announced approval of alternative fuel E-15 - a blend of 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline for use in automobiles manufactured in 2007 and newer. Based on the reaction, it sounds like it may have been a bad idea.
According to the Detroit News, the following diverse groups expressed their concerns with this announcement, for a variety of reasons:
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers — a trade group representing Detroit’s Big Three automakers, Toyota Motor Corp. and eight others — said the decision should have been delayed until more testing takes place.
Ethanol advocates said EPA didn’t go far enough - “EPA’s scientifically unjustified bifurcation of the U.S. car market will do little to move the needle and expand ethanol use today,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “Limiting E15 use to 2007 and newer vehicles only creates confusion for retailers and consumers alike. America’s ethanol producers are hitting an artificial blend wall today.”
General Motors said rushing a decision on E15 could give ethanol a “bad name” and cause engines to fail.
The Union of Concerned Scientists previously urged EPA to “reject the E15 petition as a premature, unnecessarily piecemeal approach.”
Food groups - including the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the National Chicken Council, the American Frozen Food Institute, the American Bakers Association and the National Turkey Federation — say the decision “will result in dramatic increases in the portion of the U.S. corn crop used to make fuel rather than food” and could result in more than 40 percent of American corn going to fuel tanks, causing large price increases in food costs.
for the full story see Detroit News Article
09.29.2010
Regulatory Compliance Deadlines for Petroleum Marketers take effect Friday October 1st, 2010
The Petroleum Marketers Association of America has issued a final reminder for their members of several new federal regulation which will take effect this week.
The regulations create new placarding and product transfer document (PTD) requirements for gasoline and ethanol blends as well as for sulfur containing fuels. There is also a new regulation requiring Emergency Response Procedures for HAZMAT haulers to provide 24 hour toll free response services. Also, haulers of fuels that don’t include gasoline or propane will , effective 10/1, be able to opt out of US DOT security plan and training requirements. For a copy of the full news release:
Contact Tanksurance or visit the PMAA website at http://www.pmaa.org.
09.27.2010
2010 National Tanks Conference Held in Boston
Last week the 22nd National Tanks Conference and Expo was held in Boston, MA. In attendance were regulators, owners and operators of petroleum storage tanks from all across the U.S.
The conference included three days of presentations and workshops focusing on the critical issues facing the industry. We noted that many of the issues on the agenda were critical when we attended this conference in Sacramento in 2009 :
Fund Solvency
Impending regulatory requirement for Operator training from the National Energy Policy Act of 2005
Insurance coverages and exclusions to watch out for in tank insurance policies
The need for better UST management and leak prevention techniques
Nightmare worst case scenarios from tank and piping releases
An interesting handout that was provided to conference attendees was a comprehensive survey of all of the State Financial Assurance funds. The handout included statistics on number of tanks registered, regulatory staffing and budgets, claim and reserve payments, success of appeals and much more.
Our general conclusion after participating in the conference was that the issue of fund solvency is only going to get worse as federal and state budgets cope with mounting deficits, which suggests that private insurance will continue to grow and the benefits of superior tank management systems such as Fuel-View will only increase.
In addition, the list of available UST insurers continues to change; most of the Zurich UST underwriting staff has departed, new insurers willing to write UST's have emerged, and the need for an insurance agent that can help you find the cheapest most comprehensive coverage has never been greater.
For more information about the conference or a copy of the Tank fund solvency report Contact Us
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