ILTA on February 12 issued a press release, echoing calls from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) that President Biden request in his fiscal 2022 budget the full disbursement of the $10 billion balance in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.

ILTA is working to address problematic Coast Guard rulings related to initial implementation of the TWIC biometric reader rule. In many cases, Coast Guard officials are unfamiliar with the regulation, existing policy and reader rule history.

ILTA’s TWIC reader rule awareness outreach efforts resulted in the U.S. Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy issuing a clarification memo on February 12 on redesignation of secure areas.

President Biden and Vice President Harris met at the White House February 11 with the bipartisan leadership of the Environment and Public Works Committee, including Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and James Inhofe (R-OK) along with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to discuss the president’s plan to move a broad infrastructure package through Congress.

Under fire from GOP critics for her opposition to hydraulic fracturing and her other anti-fossil fuel positions, President Biden’s Interior Secretary nominee Deb Haaland acknowledged the importance of fossil fuels in the U.S. energy mix in written testimony for her February 22 nomination hearing.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 219-212 on February 27 to approve the Biden COVID-19 relief plan, paving the way for Senate action. The vote was largely along party lines, with two Democrats joining all Republicans in opposing it, despite wide public approval (75% overall approval, including 60% of Republicans).

 

ILTA welcomed five new supplier members in February: Allied Universal; Ecorobotics; Sandale Utility Products USA; TOCE International; and Total Valve & Equipment.

Mesa ETP has debuted its brand-new Bubble Wiper Tip technology, “a proven secondary seal profile used in the industry for years, now combined with the custom design features of the WG Seals product line.”

Bulk Transporter, Feb. 9, 2021
Zenith Energy Terminals announced its acquisition of Bulk Terminal Storage from Guttman Realty. The new terminals in Aurora, Ohio, Vernon, Pennsylvania, and Star City, West Virginia adding about 560,000 barrels of storage capacity to Zenith's capacity.

Biofuels Digest, Feb. 17, 2021
Royal Vopak announced expansion of its PT Jakarta Tank Terminal in Indonesia, bringing its total tank capacity to 350,000 cbm. The project includes adding eight new tanks with a total capacity of 100,000 cbm of gasoline, ethanol and biodiesel products.

Reuters, Feb. 12, 2021
Citgo Petroleum Corp. elected Jose Pocaterra as chairman of its board of directors. Pocaterra replaces Luis Palacios who will remain as a director.

BIC Magazine, Feb. 16, 2021
Encina Development and Flint Hills Resources have signed a non-binding term sheet to produce and market renewable chemicals and renewable fuels from waste plastic at a facility in Corpus Christi, Texas.

 

An ILTA Working Group has completed work on a white paper describing a process hazard analysis of vapor recovery units and discussing mitigation options.

ILTA is hard at work on a new communications toolkit that it hopes to unveil to its membership in the coming months. The toolkit, designed to help the industry share the good news about the terminal industry and its importance to the economy, will feature many materials, including an industry PowerPoint, social media graphics, infographics, fact sheets and videos. 

ILTA’s Think Tank Blog featured six blog posts in March, including our first sponsored blog: What is a Terminal Automation System? by Dearman Systems Inc.

Forty-two ILTA members attended ILTA’s February 17 terminal call industry call, featuring a presentation from Greg Johnson of Lucknow-Highspire Terminals on ILTA’s new industry white paper on VRUs (see brief above).

ILTA President Kathryn Clay was elected as part of a new class of trustees to the board of the U.S. Coast Guard Foundation. The Coast Guard Foundation supports projects that enhance the education, wellness and morale of Coast Guard members.

ILTA advocates for the tank and terminal industry and brings peer professionals together – but we can’t do it without your support!  ILTA membership renews on January 1 annually. 

ILTA’s will hold its March terminal membership call on March 18 from 4:00-5:00 pm ET. At this time, ILTA does not expect a guest speaker, so this call will serve as an open forum for members to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, recovering from the month’s extreme weather and more. ILTA terminal members can register for the call here.

ILTA’s annual conference and trade show is back and better than ever for 2021! This year’s event will again be held in Houston on October 4-6 and will feature a diverse array of speakers, from industry experts to government professionals, who will provide meaningful insight into critical issues effecting the tank terminals industry. Here’s an overview of some of the most anticipated sessions in October’s upcoming show:

ILTA is excited to launch its inaugural Young Terminal Industry Professionals (Y-TIP) Symposium. We’ll hold the symposium virtually on April 6. 

ILTA will host its Environment, Health, Safety and Security committee meetings March 29 through April 1.

· The Full Committee will meet Monday, March 29 from 2:00-3:30 pm ET. 
· The Environment Subcommittee will meet Tuesday, March 30 from 2:00-4:00 pm ET. 
· The Health & Safety Subcommittee will meet Wednesday, March 31 from 2:00-3:30 pm ET.
· The Security Subcommittee will meet Thursday, April 1 from 2:00-4:00 pm ET.

We’ll open registration soon.

ILTA’s Terminal Operating Practices Symposium will return in 2021. TOPS provides a perfect platform for terminal operators to share best practices, near-misses and learnings to further improve the industry’s safety, security and environmental protection practices. This all-day seminar is one of ILTA’s premier events, and we hope employees from each of our terminal members attend. ILTA will collect presentation proposals in the coming weeks, so be sure to keep an eye out for more information!