January 2026 | Advocacy never slows down. This monthly brief is your window into what ILTA is tracking, influencing, and advancing, so you can stay informed on the issues shaping our industry.
ILTA Attends DHS CISA Tabletop Exercise
On January 21, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) held a cross-energy sector tabletop exercise in Phoenix, AZ. The scenario presented covered a simulated cyber-physical convergence incident impacting the Phoenix Fuel Farm, beginning with a cybersecurity attack and escalating to a physical drone attack.
Over one hundred individuals from across federal, state, local, and tribal governments, as well as the private sector, were in attendance, contributing expertise on pre-incident intelligence sharing, coordinated incident response, and recovery operations in a real-time setting. ILTA Vice President of Government Affairs Jay Cruz was joined by more than twenty terminal professionals from across ILTA’s membership. ILTA will continue partnering with CISA on these exercises and will share details on future events with the membership.
Why This Matters Partnering and maintaining open lines of communication with agencies at the federal, state, and local levels is critical to ensuring responses to high-consequence events are coordinated, effective, and timely. Exercises like this help reduce friction during real-world incidents by strengthening relationships, clarifying roles, and testing response and communication protocols before they are needed. ILTA strongly encourages members who are able to participate in future exercises to do so.
DC Circuit Court Hears Oral Arguments on PFAS Designation Lawsuit
On January 20, the Washington, DC Circuit Court held oral argument in a case brought by the Chamber of Commerce challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2024 final rule designating PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA.
The focus of the oral argument was whether EPA provided adequate notice at the proposal stage that the advantages of the designation outweighed the disadvantages and, if it did not, whether the items that were inadequately noticed were material to EPA’s decision. The Chamber’s primary argument was that EPA failed to meet its obligation to provide adequate notice and opportunity for public comment, asserting that the regulatory impact analysis (RIA) contained substantially more information than what was available at proposal.
For purposes of the case, EPA argued that the court does not need to address the statutory question of whether the agency was required to consider costs or determine whether advantages outweighed disadvantages, because EPA stated it had done both.
A decision in the case is expected in late April.
Why This Matters EPA's designation of PFAS as a hazardous substance will have a profound impact on the government's ability to assign liability for PFAS contamination, including contamination associated with PFAS-based firefighting foams at terminals, water plants, landfills, and other sites. ILTA has been in communication with both EPA and Congress regarding the importance of ensuring federal liability protections for terminal companies related to PFAS under CERCLA, and the outcome of this case will help shape how that conversation moves forward.
The Joint Committee Meeting is a terminal-member-only event featuring guest speakers and roundtable discussions. The meeting brings together ILTA’s Environment, Government Affairs, Health & Safety, and Security Committees to discuss issues impacting terminal operations from multiple perspectives. Any employee of a terminal member company is encouraged to participate in ILTA’s committees and attend the event. The agenda will be released soon.
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