Dear Members,
I hope this note finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to fill you in on some ongoing developments at ILTA.

First, ILTA continues to hold calls with terminal members to help facilitate discussion on solutions to COVID-19 challenges and give members the opportunity to hear the latest regulatory and legislative developments. In May, we had two guest speakers: David Wulf, associate director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at the Department of Homeland Security on May 14 and U.S. Coast Guard Captain Kevin D. Oditt, the commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston on May 21

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said in mid-May said it was withdrawing its January 2017 Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding vapor pressure for unrefined petroleum products and other flammable liquids.

ILTA sent a letter to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on May 8 asking the state to align its gasoline RVP waiver for the transition of winter to summer gasoline with the U.S. EPA national waiver and those of all the surrounding states.

ILTA sent a letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on May 6 describing how terminal members plan to protect workers from the coronavirus and record confirmed workplace COVID infections. Terminal member plans align with OSHA guidance for employers operating during the pandemic. ILTA noted that for employers other than health care, emergency response and corrections organizations, widespread community exposure to the virus makes it extremely difficult to determine if exposure leading to infection is work-related.

Congress remains almost exclusively focused on COVID-19 pandemic relief. The Senate is back on a limited schedule and the House was back for a one-day vote on May 15. It is not yet clear when regular business will resume.

EPA in mid-May said that it continues to take steps to address polyfluoroalkyl substances and protect public health. Specifically, the agency said it was expanding its research efforts and capabilities by launching its PFAS Innovative Treatment Team.

EPA on May 19, as directed by President Trump’s Executive Order to promote transparency through improved agency guidance, announced its first-ever proposed rule to establish consistent requirements and procedures for the issuance of guidance documents.

A coalition of 17 states has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to strike down the new Trump administration Waters of the United States regulation that significantly narrows the definition of which bodies of water can be federally regulated.

The U.S. Supreme Court on May 18 declined to review an EPA policy that fuel blenders are not responsible for mixing biofuels into gasoline. The case brought by Valero Energy Corp. and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers claimed that EPA was unlawfully giving blenders a free pass under the Renewable Fuel Standard.   

 

Markets Insider, May 26, 2020
Buckeye Partners L.P. has donated $1 million in charitable contributions to assist more than 200 nonprofit organizations across America and the Caribbean with long-term support for communities impacted by COVID-19.

Ethanol Producer Magazine, May 22, 2020
Nearly 7,000 gallons of Nebraska-made hand sanitizer has been shipped to Maryland and dispersed to more than 6,500 USDA Food Safety Inspection Service employees since the outbreak of COVID-19. Green Plains, Inc., which operates 13 biorefineries across the country, has donated more than 80,000 gallons of FCC- grade alcohol for the USDA project since early April. 

Oil & Gas Journal, May 21, 2020
Murphy Oil vice-president, onshore, Eric Hambly has been named to the newly created executive vice-president, operations, position replacing Michael McFadyen who will retire June 1.

ILTA welcomed six new supplier members from April to May: AUMA Actuators, Inc; Bullard Company; Complete Mechanical Services, LLC; Containment Drainage Erosion Corporation; Mass Technology Corporation; and the Port of Corpus Christi Authority.

Daily Republic, May 20, 2020
Phillips 66 San Francisco Refinery is providing a $25K grant to assist the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano counties, where about 11% of the community, or one in nine people, are in need of food since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

GlobeNewswire, May 18, 2020
Delek US Holdings, Inc. announced a $48 million dollar cash agreement for a dropdown of certain trucking assets to Delek Logistics Partners, LP. The assets are expected to generate earnings of more than $8 million pretax, interest and depreciation.

IT Business Net, May 2020
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC has named Mitch Eichelberger as senior vice president, Polymers and Specialties, replacing Dave Morgan who is retiring after more than 40 years with Chevron. In addition, the company named Steve Prusak senior vice president, Corporate Planning and Technology, and Darren Ercolani to the newly created role of vice president, Business Transformation.

 

ILTA hosted two webinars in May to help industry members comply with Coast Guard Maritime Transportation Security Act requirements.

ILTA is extending its deadline for submissions for the Terminal Operating Practices Symposium, an education series designed to provide terminal operators a forum to exchange lessons learned from facility incidents and discuss effective operating practices with their peers.

ILTA will continue to host separate webinars for both terminal members and supplier members in June. The terminal member calls, which began about three months ago with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, allow terminal operators to discuss challenges, lessons learned, and solutions for safe and efficient terminal operations. In June, the terminal member calls will take place on Thursday, June 4 and 18, at 4 pm EDT. Terminal members: If you haven’t been participating on the calls and want to, please reach out to membership@ilta.org.