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The PEI Board of Directors met April 24 by videoconference. Much of the board’s discussion centered on the short- and long-term effects of COVID-19. Key observations and trends included the following:

• Among distributors and contractors, service work is off more than construction, except in jurisdictions with governmental orders limiting installations.
• Agricultural fueling equipment and aboveground storage tank (AST) sales remain strong.
• Forward-thinking retailers are doing upgrades and required testing work while forecourt traffic is slow. Fewer people and vehicles mean less disruption and greater safety.
• Social distancing means higher travel costs for members that put employees on the road. (Workers are driving individually rather than sharing a vehicle and are booking separate hotel rooms.) Lower hotel room rates might offset some of the added costs.
• Labor laws that limit layoffs and terminations present special challenges for Latin American members.
• The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is proving to be a helpful — if sometimes imperfect and frustrating — resource for PEI members to keep employees on the payroll.
• Slowing accounts receivable payments are hurting many members’ cash positions.
• The pandemic probably will accelerate industry consolidation, as struggling businesses look for a lifeline.
• PEI members are finding innovative ways to boost efficiency, productivity and safety. Many solutions will continue to add value long after the crisis passes.
• The industry likely will see a slower, L-shaped recovery than a more rapid, V-shaped one.

PEI Board of Directors Meeting Report

PEI COVID-19 Employee Privacy Webinar

Draft LNG Recommended Practice Open for Comment

EPA Requests Indian Country Compliance Help

COVID-19 Updates

Respond to this Newsletter

by e-mail to the editor, Rick Long at rlong@pei.org

The board unanimously approved a 2020 Strategic Long-Range Plan that includes:

1. Continuing the $600,000 investment to increase Latin America membership and establish PEI as a recognized authority in Latin America.
2. Rolling out a recruitment tool kit members can use locally to make vocational/technical schools and military organizations more aware of employment opportunities in the fuel equipment industry.
3. Authorizing PEI staff to increase dues by up to 3% annually through 2024, if advisable. (The 2020-2021 budget approved by the board does not include a dues increase.)
4. Working to elevate the image of service technicians as IT specialists.
5. Exploring industry data and research as potential service offerings.
6. Deepening regulatory contacts to encourage greater reliance on PEI as the leading source of information in the industry.

Key PEI committee recommendations approved by the board include:

• Safety. Three new safety posters: Silica Dust Precautions; Hazardous (Deadly) Vapors; and Stand Up for Safety.
• Education & Convention. Joint PEI/NACS convention sessions on electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure and forecourt modernization; possible combination of the Service & Construction Managers and Purchasing & Inventory Managers conferences.
• Young Executives. Selection of the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida for the 2021 PEI Young Executives Winter Conference.

The board approved a $3,985,762 budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Directors also noted that the association’s reserve fund represents a good hedge against any potential COVID-19 financial problems. 

Bill Mascott, president of Mascott Equipment Co., Portland, Oregon, presided at the meeting. Other participating officers and directors included:

• Steve Dixon, P.B. Hoidale Co., Wichita, Kansas (vice president)
• Ron Sledd, Beneficial Systems, Jetersville, Virginia (treasurer)
• Rick Long, PEI, Tulsa, Oklahoma (executive vice president)
• Jim Ether, R.M. Dalrymple Co., Saratoga Springs, New York (District 1)
• Wayne Henderson, Gas Station Supply, Lynchburg, Virginia (District 2)
• Kevin Cormier, K.C. Petroleum, Jacksonville, Florida (District 3)
• Tom Fassas, PetroTowery Inc., Richmond, Kentucky (District 4)
• Mainor Reyes, Reyes Rep Gas, Guatemala City, Guatemala (District 5)
• Casey Kuppart, Mid-South Steel Products Inc., Cape Girardeau, Missouri (District 6)
• Brian Travis, Eaton Metal Products, Denver, Colorado (District 7)
• John Keller, JF Petroleum Group, San Antonio, Texas (District 8)
• Derek Rethmeier, Western Pump Inc., San Diego, California (District 9)
• James Ayers, Cim-Tek Filtration, Bement, Illinois (District 10)
• Kirby Corkill, Jarvis Lighting, Schaumburg, Illinois (District 11)
• Paola Bravo, S. Bravo Systems Inc., Commerce, California (District 12)
• Dave Duncan, Irpco, Aledo, Texas (District 13)
• Chris Santy, Patriot Capital Corp., Atlanta, Georgia (Affiliate Division)
• Ryan Harrigan, Compliance Testing and Technology Inc., Eau Claire, Wisconsin (Service & Construction Division)

FREE COVID-19 EMPLOYEE PRIVACY WEBINAR, MAY 7
Almost every PEI member company will face questions on how to handle information regarding employees' exposure to or positive testing for COVID-19. What information can members collect from their employees? What liability could employers face for sharing (or not sharing) this information?

For answers to these and other related questions, join PEI Executive Vice President and General Counsel Rick Long and two employment law experts Thursday, May 7 at 1 p.m. Eastern for a live Zoom event, COVID-19: Protecting Employee Privacy (and Your Business), The discussion will provide actionable ideas for avoiding legal mishaps in the new COVID-19 workplace.

Co-presenters Josh Alloy and Nancy Perkins practice in the Washington, D.C. office of Arnold & Porter, one of the world’s largest and most respected law firms. Alloy earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif, received the M.H. Goldstein Memorial Prize for Labor Law, and served as senior editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Perkins is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and the Harvard International Law Journal.

Although the May 7 webinar is free, space is limited. Register here.

LNG FUELING SYSTEM COMMENT PERIOD OPENS
The draft of PEI/RP1600: Recommended Practices for the Design, Construction, Installation, Operation and Maintenance of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)/Liquefied Compressed Natural Gas Vehicle Fueling Facilities is now available for review and public comment.

The document’s scope includes offloading, storage and dispensing at private, retail and commercial fueling facilities. RP1600 will educate owners, operators, engineers and contractors on how these facilities work, as well as related design and performance factors. Code enforcement personnel charged with permitting and inspecting LNG fueling facilities also will find RP1600 useful.

Download the draft at www.pei.org/rp1600.

Suggestions and recommendations to improve RP1600 must be submitted by June 29 via the online Comment Now portal.

EPA SEEKS HELP WITH INDIAN COUNTRY COMPLIANCE
Underground storage tank (UST) regulation compliance rates in Indian Country were only 29% in 2019. Experts at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attribute the low compliance rate to a mistaken belief among UST owners and operators that Indian Country sites are subject to state rather than federal deadlines.

The EPA Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) recently asked PEI distributors and contractors to help spread the word that federal UST regulations and deadlines apply in Indian Country. The federal compliance deadline for secondary containment for new and replaced tanks and piping, operator training, and periodic operation and maintenance was Oct. 13, 2018.

To help your Indian Country owners and operators understand and comply with the federal UST regulations, the EPA offers a handy series of brochures, which you can download here.

COVID-19 UPDATES
The PEI Pick-Me-Up. Check this new page on the PEI website to see how PEI members are serving their communities and responding to the pandemic. Send your company’s good news and fun photos to kwright@pei.org or post them on social using #thePEIPickMeUp.
Payroll Protection Program Reopens. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) launched another $310 billion in PPP lending on April 27. As part of the rollout, the SBA also released a new overview on how to calculate maximum loan amounts and an updated Frequently Asked Questions.
Liability Protection Battle Looms. Business liability protection is emerging as one possible battleground in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on April 27, “While our nation is asking everyone from front-line healthcare professionals to essential small-business owners to major employers to adapt in new ways and keep serving, a massive tangle of federal and state laws could easily mean their heroic efforts are met with years of endless lawsuits. We cannot let that happen.” In contrast, a spokesperson for Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House “has no interest in diminishing protections for employees and customers.”
PEI Business Conditions Survey. To better understand the pandemic’s evolving effect on our industry, PEI will conduct a third business conditions survey tomorrow, Thursday, April 30. Responses are due by close of business, Friday, May 1. If you are the official PEI representative for your organization, be watching your inbox. If another person in your organization is better suited to answer the five-minute questionnaire, please forward.

GOVERNORS SEEK BIOFUEL BLENDING  RELIEF
The governors of five oil-producing states —Texas, Louisiana, Utah, Wyoming and Oklahoma — asked the EPA on April 7 to temporarily waive nationwide biofuel-blending requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Citing the recent collapse in oil prices and widespread gasoline oversupplies, the governors said the added burden of ethanol and biodiesel targets would severely harm their states’ economies and constitute a “material threat” to the nation’s refining sector. The EPA has 90 days to respond.

PEI MEMBER NEWS
Petroleum Containment Inc. named industry veteran Ken Turcotte its new strategic account manager. Turcotte will be responsible for Petroleum Containment’s OEM and national sales accounts.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
Mexican service provider. Tecnología e Ingeniería Luqross SA de C.V., Antigua Calzada de Guadalupe No. 105 Colonia San Marcos Azcapotzalco, Ciudad de México 02020 Mexico, applied for service and construction division membership. Victor Manuel Luqueño Jasso is CEO of the company, which was established in 1996. Tecnología e Ingeniería Luqross SA de C.V. maintains and installs control systems. Sponsored for PEI membership by Víctor Garduño Deméneghi, Alvic, Cuauhtémoc, Mexico.
www.luqross.com

Mexican reseller. Petro Technicians, SA de C.V., Calle Vicente Guerrero No. 146 Colonia Agua Blanca Industrial, Zapopan, Jalisco, 45235 Mexico, applied for affiliate division membership. Ruben Dario Arreola Chávez is director general of the company, which was established in 2000. Petro Technicians, SA de C.V. is a reseller of petroleum equipment hardware and software. Sponsored for PEI membership by Pablo Gualdi, ATIO Group, Mexico City, Mexico.
www.petrotech.com.mx

Mexican service company. CIEFSA SA de C.V., Avenida Villa de Ayala No. 2364, Ciudad de México, 07510 Mexico, applied for service and construction division membership. Andrés Gutiérrez Torres is director general of the firm, which was established in 2017. CIEFSA SA de C.V. specializes in chemical analysis for petroleum products. Sponsored for PEI membership by Gerardo Alejandro Canto Valdez, Brentec Soluciones Tecnológicas SA de CV., Merida, Mexico.
www.ciefsa.com

Texas consultant. Precision Testing and Compliance, P.O. Box 170398, Austin, Texas 78717, applied for affiliate division membership. Jamie Smith is operations and compliance manager for the company, which was established in February 2019. Precision Testing and Compliance performs tank tightness, vapor recovery, product line testing and UST testing. Sponsored for PEI membership by Christopher Lawson, McCon Building and Petroleum Service Inc., Flower Mound, Texas.
www.precisiontestingandcompliance.com

Hawaiian testing company. K&K Environmental Compliance Testing Services LLC, 735 Hoomoe St., Pearl City, Hawaii 96782, applied for service and construction division membership. Wilbert Crisostomo is CEO of the firm, which was established in January 2019. K&K Environmental Compliance Testing Services LLC performs UST and AST annual testing. Sponsored for PEI membership by Scott Nakai, M. Nakai Repair Service Ltd., Honolulu, Hawaii.

ADMITTED TO PEI

• Derek Bartlett, Blarney Castle Oil Co., Bear Lake, Michigan (operations and engineering)
• Joel McCormick, J. McCormick LLC, Twin Lake, Michigan (operations and engineering)
• Bubb’s Petroleum Service LLC, Linden, Pennsylvania (service & construction)
• Resource Data Management, New Hope, Minnesota (manufacturer)
• Mandatory Fuel Management, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (service and construction)
• MEP Brothers Ltd., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (distributor)
• Beaudreau Sensor Systems, Westerly, Rhode Island (manufacturer)
• Qingdao AOBO-Environment Technology Co. Ltd., Huangdao District, Qingdao, China (affiliate)

The TulsaLetter 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.