Page 11 - Oil and Energy-February 2013

February 2013 • 11
✓ Fought for Tax Relief – NEFI supported national efforts that
successfully repealed expanded tax reporting requirements that
would have required the filing of a 1099-MISC form for each and
every transaction for goods and services provided by a vendor that
is greater than $600. NEFI also helped to repeal a new requirement
that federal, state and local governments withhold three percent (3%)
of payments to government contractors effective January 1, 2013.
These requirements would have been very costly for many NEFI
members.
✓ Raising Truck Weight Limits – NEFI partnered with other
industry groups and transportation safety advocates to successfully
pass legislation that renewed for twenty years a program allowing
trucks of up to 100,000 lbs. to travel on inter-state highways in
Vermont and Maine. This will increase transportation efficiency and
road safety and relieve congestion in small communities.
✓ Delayed Costly Wetline Retrofits – NEFI supported efforts
that successfully enacted legislation to block for two years a U.S.
Department of Transportation proposal that would have imposed
an arbitrary mandate that wetlines on transport trailers be retrofitted
with purge pumps that remove product from external pipeline after
each delivery (cost estimates range between $8,000 and $10,000 per
transport). Regulators must now conduct a comprehensive study and
cost-benefit analysis before finalizing a rule.
✓ Defended Futures Trading Reforms – NEFI continued its
leadership of a broad national coalition that includes transportation,
manufacturing, agricultural and consumer groups. NEFI and its allies
successfully defeated over a dozen Wall Street-backed bills that
would have weakened, delayed or repealed new derivatives (futures
& swaps) market trading reforms or that would have dramatically cut
federal funding necessary to implement and enforce them.
✓ Urged Greater Protections for Energy Hedgers – Following
the bankruptcy of commodity broker MF Global and the subsequent
freezing of its assets, NEFI worked with affected heating oil com-
panies to reestablish hedging positions and to unfreeze accounts.
NEFI also successfully pressed regulators to expand existing rules
for brokers and is working with lawmakers on new legislation that
would extend federal bankruptcy protections to commodity hedgers.
✓ Fought to Maintain Fuel Assistance Funding – NEFI efforts
helped defeat dramatic cuts to federal LIHEAP funding proposed
by the Obama administration. NEFI also opposed funding cuts to
weatherization assistance and state energy programs. Not only would
the neediest Americans be harmed by these cuts (including military
families, veterans and the elderly) but it would also put added strain
on state budgets and may lead to higher taxes and fees on already
struggling businesses as state governments close the potential
funding gap.
Regulatory Initiatives – 2012 Year in Review
✓ Commodity Trading Reform – NEFI professional staff met
frequently with regulators at the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (CFTC) to press for stronger limits on commodity
speculation, transparency requirements and protections for com-
modity hedgers. Two and a half years after the Dodd-Frank Act was
signed into law, many new commodity-trading reforms are delayed
but expected to be phased-in during 2013. NEFI will continue its
efforts and will support the CFTC as it appeals a recent court ruling
vacating speculation limits.
✓ Fighting New Underground Storage Tank Requirements –
NEFI is working with PMAA and other stakeholders fighting new
UST regulations that would impose $6,100 per year in new compli-
ance costs on petroleum marketers with UST systems. The proposed
rule would impose new walkthrough inspections and integrity testing
of secondarily contained equipments including pipes, dispensers and
sump areas. NEFI has been meeting with EPA staff, writing com-
ments and enlisting the help of the Small Business Administration to
help roll back these onerous regulations in favor of a more balanced
and flexible approach with lower annual compliance costs.
✓ Defeated Proposal to Eliminate 1993 Combustible Classification
– NEFI successfully beat back a proposal by the U.S. DOT to elimi-
nate the “1993 combustible” hazardous material classification. Under
the rule, heating oil dealers would be forced to reclassify distillates
as “1203 flammable” and retire from service non-specification cargo
tanks and transports. The change would have cost heating oil dealers
thousands in new compliance costs. NEFI played a key role in the with-
drawal effort by writing comments on the proposal, meeting with DOT
officials in Washington, D.C. and presenting supporting information
demonstrating the need and value of maintaining the 1993 combustible
classification. As a result of NEFI efforts, the DOT agreed the cost of
the rule would be too high, and withdrew the proposed rule in May.
✓ Working to Prevent New LIHEAP Paperwork – NEFI is
meeting with Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to
prevent new red tape that would significantly increase the amount of
paperwork heating oil dealers must submit for LIHEAP reimburse-
ment. The HHS is requiring more accountability in the LIHEAP
program due to recent reports of fraud. Specifically, HHS is requiring
states to audit recipient claim information more closely for LIHEAP
eligibility. NEFI is working with HHS to ensure that the new audit
requirements do not add to the already significant paperwork burden
on heating oil dealers who participate in LIHEAP. NEFI is making it
clear to HHS that heating oil dealer margins on LIHEAP reimburse-
ments are already too lean and the added administrative burden of
new paperwork could lead to many heating oil dealers dropping out
of the program altogether.
✓ Creating Streamlined Fuel Waiver Process During Storm
Emergencies – The state and federal government’s emergency
response efforts with respect to fuel distribution in the wake of hur-
ricane Sandy was slow and uncoordinated. The federal government
did not act quickly enough to ensure through regulatory waivers that
sufficient supply of fuel was available for emergency generators in
the run-up to Hurricane Sandy or for emergency response efforts for
afflicted areas after the storm. NEFI is working closely with FEMA,
the EPA, U.S DOT, IRS, state emergency authorities and state
association executives to streamline and coordinate the fuel waiver
process and enable the agencies to be more proactive during the
next weather-related emergency. Of particular concern is the need
for proactive measures to ensure emergency generators can be filled
with higher sulfur heating oil in place of ULSD in the run-up to a
large storm event. Waivers allowing heating oil to be used on-road in
emergency equipment are also vital to relief efforts.