December 20, 2017 | Vol. 67, No. 25

Dear PEI Member:

The PEI staff (pictured above with this year’s Toys for Tots donations) wishes our members and friends the joy of this special Season and a most prosperous New Year. Please let us know how we can be of assistance to you in 2018. It is our honor and privilege to serve this great industry.

PMAA REQUESTS DELAY OF UST TESTING REQUIREMENTS
In a Dec. 15 letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt, the Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) requested a three-year delay in testing requirements for containment sumps, spill buckets and overfill prevention devices.

Under the 2015 amendments to the federal underground storage tank (UST) regulations, spill buckets, overfill prevention equipment and containment sumps used for interstitial monitoring must be tested for liquid tightness at least every three years.

In the 16 states and territories that have adopted the federal regulations, the initial compliance test must be conducted by Oct.13, 2018. The District of Columbia. Puerto Rico and 38 states with State Program Approval (SPA) status must amend their existing plans and reapply for SPA by Oct. 13, 2018. Owners and operators in these jurisdictions then have three years from the date of their SPA renewal to meet the initial testing requirements. As a result, owners and operators in some SPA states could have until Oct. 13, 2021, to complete their first compliance tests.

In its letter, PMAA asks the EPA to extend the last possible compliance deadline by three years, to Oct. 13, 2024. In support of its request, PMAA makes five arguments:

1. The equipment in older tank systems was not designed or installed with the 2015 testing protocols in mind.

2. Some PMAA members are having difficulty finding contractors who can conduct the tests before the current deadline.

PMAA Seeks Delay of UST Testing Requirements

UID Early Bird Registration Closes Jan. 10

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3. Available testing methods, including those in PEI/RP1200: Recommended Practices for the Testing and Verification of Spill, Overfill, Leak Detection and Secondary Containment Equipment at UST Facilities, are inadequate for the wide array of equipment in use in the field.

4. The testing methods in PEI/RP1200 will generate a significant volume of contaminated test water that must be handled and disposed of as a hazardous waste.

5. Removing overfill prevention equipment to conduct a tightness test might damage the equipment beyond repair.

The EPA may respond to the PMAA request in one of three ways:

First, the EPA could choose to do nothing, in which case the existing deadlines for testing containment sumps, spill buckets and overfill protection devices will remain in place.

Second, through a fast-track procedure known as a “direct final rule,” the EPA has the authority to issue certain regulatory amendments without a formal rulemaking process. Because this procedure is designed only for noncontroversial changes, any proposed deadline extension made through a direct final rule would fail if the EPA received even one public objection.

The third and final option for extending the testing deadline is a formal rulemaking process. This approach would include development of a detailed proposal, a lengthy comment period and, quite possibly, public hearings. The timeline for formal rulemakings typically is measured in years, not months.

How will the EPA respond to PMAA’s request to extend the testing date for sumps, spill buckets and overfill protection devices? We are betting on option #1 (the EPA taking no action) or #3 (a formal rulemaking process). Delaying such an important deadline doesn’t seem like the kind of “noncontroversial change” that is appropriate for a direct final rule.

But, we’ll see.

REGISTER FOR UNIVERSITY OF INNOVATIVE DISTRIBUTION BY JAN. 10
Early bird registration ends Jan. 10 for the 2018 University of Innovative Distribution (UID), March 11-14, at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis.

UID is a customized educational conference for professionals in the wholesale distribution industry. PEI members who have attended in recent years give the event rave reviews, as evidenced by this success story of one PEI member and the personal testimonial of 2018 PEI President Robert Peavey.

In addition to the $100 early bird discounts, PEI offers $600 scholarships to the first 30 members who register, making the net rate only $495 for those who register by Jan. 10.

View the full menu of UID courses and register at www.pei.org/uid. Note: Many UID classes fill up well in advance, so early registration is strongly encouraged.

RESERVE YE CONFERENCE HOTEL ROOM BY JAN. 2
The 2018 PEI Young Executives Winter Conference will be held Feb. 7-9 in Nashville at The Hermitage Hotel, Tennessee’s only Forbes Five Star hotel. PEI is offering the first 50 YE registrants who book a room at the Hermitage a $40 discount per night on Feb. 7 and 8 — a net $239 room rate. Otherwise, the guaranteed PEI negotiated room rate is $279 a night if booked by Jan. 2. Register and book your room now to save.

C-STORE ACTIVITY
“Love's Travel Stops and Country Stores will open more than 40 travel stops in 24 states in 2018, a company spokeswoman told OPIS on Friday. This is compared with 36 new travel stops for 2017… .”—Oil Express News Alert, Dec. 12, 2017
“Casey’s, which opened its 2,000th convenience store in November, is also on track to open its first c-store in Michigan… . The 2,000th location opened in Russellville, Ky., on Nov. 30. The company … now has 200 new-store sites either under agreement or under construction at the end of the quarter."—CSP Daily News, Dec. 15, 2017
“Retail fuel station and convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. [ACT] and its affiliate CrossAmerica Partners LP have agreed to divest 10 fuel stations in Minnesota and Wisconsin to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that ACT’s proposed acquisition of Holiday Companies would violate federal antitrust law. … Under the terms of the acquisition, ACT will acquire from Holiday Companies approximately 380 retail fuel outlets with attached convenience stores in 10 states.”—www.ftc.gov/news, Dec. 15, 2017

PEI MEMBER NEWS
Meco Inc. of Augusta/Greenville announced changes in the company’s leadership and ownership. FJ “Jeff” Futrelle III has retired as owner and president but will remain an active member of the board of directors. William “Brad” Burke and Franklin Futrelle IV are now co-owners of the firm. Burke will serve as CEO and Futrelle as COO.

Patriot Capital promoted four of its financing professionals: Geoff Smith is now director of western sales; Emily Cain was named Texas territory manager; Midwest Regional Manager Brian Wolfgang was given added responsibility for Oklahoma; Southeastern Regional Manager Jonathan Carrizzo assumed responsibility for Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Petrosoft opened a new corporate headquarters at 290 Bilmar Drive, Pittsburgh, PA. The 67,000-square-foot facility will house the company’s administrative, human resources, product development, implementation, customer services, marketing, sales and technical support teams.

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The TulsaLetter (ISSN 0193-9467) is published two or three times each month by the Petroleum Equipment Institute. Richard C. Long, Editor. Opinions expressed are the opinions of the Editor. Basic circulation confined to PEI members.