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PMAA SIGNS
LETTER ASKING FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS ON E15
While PMAA supports the expanded use of ethanol and the
increased production of flex-fueled vehicles, PMAA remains
concerned about the approval of E15 in a hasty fashion
without proper research. On Wednesday, PMAA signed onto a
letter to Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ranking Member James
Inhofe (R-OK) as well as
letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-TX)
urging both committees to hold a hearing on EPA’s upcoming
decision on E15.
Last month, Chairman Waxman and ranking member Barton signed
off on a rare bipartisan letter to EPA Administrator Lisa
Jackson questioning the effects 15 percent ethanol would
have on gasoline refueling infrastructure, vehicles, boats,
outdoor powered equipment, and air quality. The letter
cited: “Allowing the sale of renewable fuel in a way that
damages equipment, shortens its life or requires costly
repairs will likely cause a backlash against renewable
fuels.” Petroleum marketers need legal and regulatory
certainty concerning E15 before offering it to retailers and
consumers. The letter was in response to a top EPA
official’s remark that the agency is likely to grant a
partial waiver for E15 blends for model year 2007 vehicles
and newer in September 2010. Furthermore, EPA expects to
make a decision on using E15 in 2001 model year and newer
vehicles by the end of November when the Department of
Energy completes all of its tests. Currently, gasoline
retail infrastructure equipment is certified to dispense and
store up to 10 percent ethanol by Underwriters Laboratories
(UL).
It is important to continue reaching
out to members of Congress in support of Representatives
Mike Ross (D-AR) and John Shimkus’ (R-IL) Renewable Fuels
Marketing Act of 2010 (H.R. 5778) which will provide a legal
and regulatory pathway for retailers to sell mid-level
ethanol blends. H.R. 5778 would give the EPA Administrator
the authority to issue guidelines to determine whether new
and existing underground storage tanks and dispensing
equipment are compatible with fuels such as E85, B20 and
B10+.
RULE ON GROUND-LEVEL OZONE TO COME THIS
FALL; COURT TO RULE ON CA WAIVER SOON
The EPA told a US Federal Court last
week that it will not release new national standards for
ground-level ozone this month and, instead, issue them later
this fall. Many EPA watchers are calling the announcement
“convenient” considering that announcement could come after
the mid-term elections. The draft rule released in January
proposed to lower the standard to between 60 and 70 parts
per billion (ppb). The Bush administration lowered the
standard to 75 ppb. PMAA submitted comments during the
comment period.
It’s also important to note that US Circuit Court for
Appeals for the District of Columbia (Washington, DC) could
rule soon on California’s effort to implement its own
tailpipe emissions rules after the EPA granted California
its waiver. The US Chamber of Commerce and National
Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) challenged
California’s waiver.
Many court observers expect the court’s decision will set
the tone for how it rules on challenges to EPA’s tailoring
rule. That rule was drafted by EPA to limit Clean Air Act
regulations to emitters that produce more than 75,000 of
greenhouse gas emissions annually.
PMAA MEMBER
SERVICES SPOTLIGHT FEATURING: LABORCHEX
Checking Personal & Professional
References: A smart move!
Not all of your job applicants have extensive (or provable) employment
histories. Some may be young, and a job with you might be their first. Others
may have been working for years, but were self-employed so they really don’t
have a boss or personnel director to contact in order to verify employment.
In such cases, it is smart to ask for personal and professional references. For
the young person, it could be a teacher, coach, member of the clergy, etc. For
the self-employed individual, ask for the names of people he/she did business
with. Always get a home, office, and cell number if you can and an email
address. LaborChex investigators will contact references to ask specific
questions to meet your needs.
LaborChex provides employment background screening services to PMAA members
nationwide at discounted pricing. For more information,
review PMAA’s current
program or email Steven J. Austin
or by phone at 601.624.4321.
MAKE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATIONS NOW
TO JOIN PMAA AND NACS IN ATLANTA IN OCTOBER
PMAA will hold its Fall Meeting in conjunction with the NACS
Show on October 4-5 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. Please view the
Conference
Schedule for PMAA’s Fall Meeting. Housing registration officially closed August
13, 2010; however, NACS Housing will continue to take reservations. We encourage
you to make your plans NOW! The final date to make any changes to your
reservation is September 3, 2010.
Pre-registration is encouraged to expedite your time during the conference.
Please complete a
PMAA Fall Registration form at your earliest convenience.
The NACS Show registration is separate from the PMAA Meeting Registration.
If you are only attending the PMAA Meeting, please make your hotel reservations
on
PMAA Convention Online Housing at the NACS Show or call 800.262.9974 and
refer to PMAA Block. You can find additional information
here under Fall Meeting
at the NACS Show.
If you are only attending the NACS Show, please make your hotel reservations on
NACS Show Convention Online Housing or call 800.262.9974 and refer to NACS Show
Block. Additional information on the 2010 NACS Show can be found
here.
PMAA PARTNER SPOTLIGHT FEATURING:
MATRIX CAPITAL MARKETS GROUP, INC.
RECENT PRESS RELEASE
Petroleum/C-Store M&A Summit to be held November 11-12, 2010
Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) along with Matrix Capital Markets Group, a
leading merger and acquisition firm, announce the second annual
Petroleum/C-Store M&A Summit being held November 11-12, 2010 at the Westin
Copley Place in Boston, MA.
This will be a lively, fun and informative event where attendees are divided
into two teams that compete to buy a group of assets being offered for sale by a
fictitious seller. Each team will be challenged to value the assets, assess the
environmental issues, and, ultimately, prepare and submit an asset purchase
agreement. The sale process will be structured with multiple rounds of bidding
and participants will learn how to navigate a structured sale process. Each team
will be advised by experienced M&A professionals from Matrix, environmental
experts and attorneys, all who have worked on hundreds of M&A transactions
within the industry. At the end of the Summit, a winning bidder will be selected
and prizes will be awarded. As an added bonus this year, Dr. George Overstreet,
Associate Dean for Center Development & Research, McIntire School of Commerce,
University of Virginia, will be presenting some original research about
valuation, real estate and other timely industry topics.
Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) is the world's most comprehensive source
for petroleum pricing and news information and now has offices in Europe and
Singapore. OPIS is the most widely accepted U.S. fuel price benchmark for supply
contracts and competitive positioning. OPIS thoroughly covers pricing, analysis
and news for gasoline, diesel, ethanol, biodiesel, LP-gas, jet fuel, crude,
propane, feedstocks, and kerosene. Through its subsidiary, Axxis Software, it
also provides leading-edge software solutions for petroleum marketers looking to
automate price collection, data storage and re-pricing of dealer and commercial
accounts. For details, call toll-free 888-301-2645 or visit the event website at
www.opisnet.com/mandasummit.
Matrix's Energy and Multi-Site Retail Group is recognized as the national leader
in providing transactional advisory services to companies in the downstream
energy and multi-site retail sectors including convenience store chains,
petroleum marketers, fuels distributors, retail propane distributors, heating
oil distributors, lubes retailers and distributors, terminal operators, fuels
transportation companies, hospitality companies, and other specialty retail
chains. Team members are dedicated to these sectors and draw upon complementary
experiences to provide advisory services to complete sophisticated merger and
acquisition transactions, private debt and equity raises, corporate
restructurings, and corporate valuations and strategic planning engagements.
Since its inception in 1997, this dedicated group has successfully advised on
over 70 transactions in these sectors.
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