June 24, 2002

ENERGY CONFERENCE GETS CHAIRMAN; FIRST MEETING SET

The House and Senate have reached agreement that Rep. Tauzin (R-LA) will chair the Conference Committee on the Energy Bill. There had been some dispute over whose turn it was to chair such a committee, with the threat of possible deadlock. But Sen. Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bingaman (D-NM) backed down in favor of Tauzin, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The first meeting of the conferees will be this week, but it is likely to be limited to opening statements. The conference is sure to be a long and difficult process. There are about 150 provisions which are roughly comparable – but not exact matches – between the House and Senate versions. There are an additional 150 provisions which show up in one house’s version but not in the other house’s.

Most observers expect the conference will “percolate along” until the August recess of Congress, at which time staff will get to work on the difficult provisions. After the August recess – in September and October – the real work of the conference committee will take place. Given that the timing will be just before the election, it is far from certain that a bill will be agreed to.

SIGMA is working with the conferees to defeat the ethanol mandate – the so-called “Renewable Fuels Standard” – which is in the Senate version of the bill but not in the House version. We repeat our request from last week – if you have a contact or influence with any of the conferees, please let us know! House conferees are listed in last week’s edition (click here); for a list of Senators (click here).

ULTRA-LOW SULFUR DIESEL

The second meeting of the special advisory committee to EPA on implementation of the low-sulfur diesel rule will be this Thursday and Friday. Alan Wright of Pilot Oil Corp., who is representing SIGMA as well as three other marketer groups, will be in attendance. However, we are not convinced that the committee (called a “FACA” in Washingtonese) will address any of our concerns as marketers and retailers.

Separately, however, EPA appears ready to begin a dialog with the four marketers groups – SIGMA, PMAA, NATSO, and NACS – over our concerns. We have received a response from EPA to the letter the four groups sent, asking that EPA address such questions as retailer liability, mis-fueling, the need for extra tankage, and other aspects of the phase-in provision. It appears a meeting with EPA staff will probably take place in Ann Arbor, MI, the week of July 21.

One further development. At the first FACA meeting, EPA promised to release a status report on the progress of the refining industry and engine manufacturers toward meeting the deadlines for developing clean diesel and clean diesel engines. EPA has now released that report, which says all is peachy-keen and on schedule. No surprises there. Nobody seriously expected EPA to say otherwise.

TANK LEGISLATION

SIGMA continues to meet with staff and legislators on both the Senate and House sides on the issue of underground storage tank legislation. We are urging the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to move forward with a vote on S. 1850, and with key House members to get similar legislation introduced in the House.

SPCC RULE REVISIONS

Many larger petroleum marketing facilities are required to have plans in place to deal with potential petroleum spills under the SPCC rules (Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures). There has been some controversy over the years on the meaning of some of the provisions of the SPCC rules. EPA is in the process of developing a final rule to clarify some of those issues. OMB is expected to release (meaning “approve”) EPA’s final rules sometime in the next few weeks. We’ll keep you posted.

ERGONOMICS RULES

Although OSHA has formally opted for voluntary guidelines for ergonomics (repetitive stress injuries) for employers, the Senate has taken a different tack. On a straight party-line vote, the Sen. Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has oversight of OSHA, adopted a bill last week which would require OSHA to adopt a mandatory ergonomics rule within two years.