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NPC Issues Report

Stage II and Onboard

Vulnerability Assessment

Lame Ducks

Energy Bill in 2005

FUTA Deposits Change

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Illinois Fee Increases

RSPA Developments

Winter Leadership Meeting

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Before Xmas preparations take all your attention, try to spend a few minutes to plan for January. That’s when SIGMA and NPN bring you Winter Management Conference XII in Snowmass Village/Aspen, Colorado. As an added attraction, we’re Xcited to have the internationally-televised Winter X-Games underway in the same place, same time! We’ve got some Xtremely good hotel rates – as low as $85 per person, double occupancy – but our room block Xpires on December 15; after that, rooms will be hard to come by in this world-class resort. We have some Xcellent educational programs scheduled, including a CEO Roundtable of Xperts from a variety of industries related to your business. The program offers something for everyone, from Baby Boomers to GenXers, from CEO’s and other top Xecutives to key employees you want to reward, from beginning skiers to Xtreme snowboarders! This Xtraordinary opportunity is not to be missed. If you’re not already signed up – or if there are others from your company who should attend – Xplore the possibilities by going to www.sigma.org/X !!!

For immediate registration, click here .  For info on the X Games, visit http://eXpn.go.com/eXpn/indeX.   And click here to make your hotel reservations.    

NPC ISSUES REPORT

On Dec. 1, the National Petroleum Council sent to Energy Secretary Abraham a report on refining and inventory issues which he had originally requested by completed prior to the election. Although the NPC is heavily weighted toward refiners, it does include some independent marketers as well. The report’s conclusions, at least in their broad outlines, tend to mirror SIGMA positions:

~  There is a potential for significant supply disruption in conjunction with the introduction of ultra-low-sulfur diesel in 2006, and EPA may need to exercise some flexibility in the area of testing requirements due to the likelihood of sulfur contamination during the distribution process.

~  Imports are expected to continue to be an economic component of supply, and market mechanisms provide the fastest and most efficient response to supply disturbances.

~  No general supply problems are foreseen from the implementation of low-sulfur gasoline requirements in 2006.

~  EPA should reconsider compliance deadlines under the new ozone and PM standards, because “as presently structured, attainment deadlines precede the benefits that will be achieved from emissions reductions already planned.”

~  There are several other recommendations aimed at avoiding hindrance of refining capacity expansion, improving the environment for new investment in domestic refining and logistics capabilities, and ultimately for allowing the current supply system to operate efficiently.

A copy of the report in draft form is at www.npc.org.   

STAGE II & ONBOARD

OPW Fueling Components has announced that the Calif. Air Resources Board (CARB) has certified its “OPW Vaporsaver 1" Stage II system as being compatible with Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery (ORVR, aka “onboard canisters”). This certification is an important trigger in CARB’s pending regulations to require ORVR-compatible Stage II systems. Ultimately, the introduction of ORVR was supposed to lead to the elimination of Stage II requirements. In some places, however, it now appears that ORVR will merely trigger new, more-stringent Stage II rules. 

VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT

API and NPRA have issued a new second edition of their “Security Vulnerability Assessment Methodology for the Petroleum and Petrochemical Industries” publication. This document does not present a checklist of security measures. Instead, it presents a systematic process to help a refining or marketing company to evaluate potential terrorism threats and countermeasures that could be taken to mitigate the threat. The document may be of most interest to SIGMA members who are involved in truck transport or terminal operations. A memo from our attorneys summarizing the document is available by clicking here. Or go to http://api-ec.api.org/filelibrary/SVA_E2.pdf .  

LAME DUCKS

Congress will be back in session next week, at least briefly, for the ostensible purposes of dealing with Intelligence Reform legislation and clearing up the problem with Congressional rights to view individual income tax returns that cropped up in the omnibus spending bill. It is not certain at this point whether action will be finalized on either or both measures, or how long it will take to do so.  

ENERGY BILL IN 2005

House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) has been quoted as saying that his committee has a full plate of issues next year, and is unlikely to take up an energy bill until and unless the Senate has acted. However, if the Senate does act, his committee will follow suit and meet the Senate at least halfway.    

FUTA DEPOSITS CHANGE

Currently, employers are required to make quarterly deposits of federal unemployment taxes (FUTA) if the accumulated tax exceeds $100. That threshold will increase to $500 due to new rules effective 1/1/05. Although the impact will vary by company, a good “rule of thumb” is that employers with fewer than 8 employees will be exempted from the requirement for quarterly deposits. That’s because the maximum FUTA tax is $56 per employee per year.   

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is considering a change in how it evaluates the cost-effectiveness of EPA programs. Currently, the effectiveness analysis looks at programs based on effectiveness related to the program’s stated goals and improved environmental protection, with costs factored in only in terms of Federal budget costs. The change, if it were to be implemented, would look at costs to industry and to society at large, not just at budget cost. Most environmental groups oppose such an approach, because they say it would cause an EPA bias toward more industry-friendly regulations in the future.    

ILLINOIS FEE INCREASES

A judge has ruled that some 300 fee hikes on businesses in Illinois are unconstitutional, for 2 reasons. First, the hikes were for the purpose of balancing the state budget and were not related to the reasons the fees were imposed in the first place (i.e., program costs), and thus weren’t “reasonable.” Also, the fee increases were selective (some 900 other state fees were not raised), thereby violating a state constitutional requirement that tax and fee hikes be uniform.    

RSPA DEVELOPMENTS

We’ve seen reports that the Dept. of Transportation’s Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) will delay its final rule on hazmat jurisdiction at least until 6/1/05, instead of the original effective date of 1/1/05. Separately, President Bush has signed into law the bill that splits RSPA into two organizations, one focused on research and the other on pipeline and hazmat safety issues.  

WINTER LEADERSHIP MEETING

On the Thursday and Friday preceding the NPN/SIGMA Winter Management Conference, SIGMA’s committees will meet in Denver at our Winter Leadership Meeting. All meetings are at The Brown Palace (hotel). If you’re on a committee now . . . or have volunteered to serve on one . . . or would just like to participate in this one meeting . . .  click here . Remember . . . SIGMA Committee Meetings are open to ALL SIGMA members; you don’t have to be on the committee to attend.    

 
SIGMA Weekly Report December 6, 2004 © Copyright SIGMA, 2005