November 6, 2024

Tuesday, December 3 | TOPS 2024 to Be Held in New Orleans! 

TOPS is a unique educational series that offers terminal operators a platform to share their experiences and learn from each other. It's a space to discuss effective operating practices and lessons learned from various incidents. Our presenters, fellow terminal operator employees, will share their experiences handling natural disasters, environmental releases, malfunctions, worker injuries and illnesses, near misses/hits, and other abnormal operating events at their facilities.

The event will be held at the New Orleans Marriott on December 3. Deadline to book hotel room at the ILTA rate is Monday, November 11. Register and book here! 

Wednesday, November 6 | Webinar on OSHA Heat Illness & Injury Rulemaking 

OSHA recently announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Heat Injury and Illness Prevention which would require all employers conducting business in general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture sectors to develop and implement Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Plans (HIIPP). ILTA has joined an industry coalition headed by Conn Maciel Carey LLP, a law firm that specializes in labor and employment matters, to help provide comments as the rulemaking process continues.  

This NPRM will have a real impact on our industry, and we must receive comments and insights from our ILTA members. ILTA will hold a webinar on this rulemaking on November 6 from 2:00 - 3:00 PM EST.

If you have any questions on the NPRM, how you can get in involved, or need the link to join the webinar, please reach out to James Privette, Government Affairs and Communications Manager, at jprivette@ilta.org.  

Wednesday, November 13 | ILTA PAC Holding Fundraiser with Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)

The ILTA Political Action Committee (PAC) is delighted to announce that it is sponsoring a luncheon fundraiser for Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)! The Senator will join ILTA PAC and several other associations on November 13 in Washington, DC to share her thoughts on the then recently completed election cycle.

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All members of US-based ILTA terminal or supplier member companies are welcome to participate. For details on how to attend or donate, please reach out to ILTA Manager of Government Affairs & Communications James Privette: jprivette@ilta.org.

June 9 - 11, 2025 | ILTA 2025 Trade Show Rebooking 

Rebooking for the ILTA 2025 Trade Show is underway! If you have not filled out your application to exhibit, please contact Justin Olson at jolson@thewymancompany.com.

ILTA Holds Annual Membership Meeting in Memphis

ILTA held its 2024 annual membership meeting on October 24 at The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. At the meeting, members voted to renew the current slate of board members for another year in their current roles on the ILTA Board.  

Chair Pratt Summers of Colonial Group, Inc. and ILTA President Leakhena Swett kicked off the meeting with their vision for ILTA heading into the next election cycle. In 2024, ILTA worked diligently to cut expenses where possible while maintaining the association’s robust set of member benefits. Similarly, Treasurer Josh Etzel of Kinder Morgan and ILTA Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Levitt overviewed ILTA’s fiscal health for the 2024 calendar year, as well as how ILTA intends to budget itself for 2025. Read more.

Election Outcomes Impact Key Policies and Initiatives of Interest to Liquid Terminals

On October 17, ILTA hosted its monthly Energy Evolution webinar featuring Ted Michaels and Jessica Johnson Bennett, Partners at AJW, Inc. Ted and Jessica have decades of experience in federal and state government affairs, focusing on energy, liquid fuels, sustainability, and market dynamics, as well as topics impacting liquid terminals such as CERCLA and other EPA regulations. Ted and Jessica discussed the election’s potential impacts on a variety of initiatives, incentives, and regulations that intersect with bulk liquid storage, handling, and distribution.

Ted and Jessica began with an overview of what is at stake, discussing potential outcomes for the Presidential, Congressional, Governor, and State Legislature races. They reviewed current swing states and key races to watch, including ‘toss up’ seats and the seats most likely to flip in the House, as well as the consequential impacts on Committee leadership. Following, Ted and Jessica walked through how these various election outcomes could impact key issues for ILTA’s members. They analyzed how the two administrations and Congressional makeup would shape policies impacting liquid terminals, such as federal demand drivers impacting energy and fuels markets, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the suite of PFAS regulations, and the various tax credits and tax credit enhancements that would incentivize the production of low-carbon fuels. To conclude their presentation, Ted and Jessica took questions from the audience, addressing critical policy issues impacting the liquid terminal industry and the government. 

USCG Delays TWIC Implementation for Certain Facilities Until 2029

Announced in the Federal Register on October 31, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) is delaying the implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) 

Reader Requirements for certain facilities until May 8, 2029. This announcement comes in the wake of the publishing of a 2022 RAND Corporation cost impact report of the rule requirements at chemical facilities around the country. ILTA terminal members contributed to the study, providing researchers with key insights into the significant cost of the rule if it were implemented as written.  

This final rule delays implementing TWIC readers for (1) facilities that handle certain dangerous cargos (CDC) in bulk but do not transfer those cargoes from or to a vessel; (2) facilities that handle CDC in bulk and do transfer those cargoes from or to a vessel; and (3) facilities that receive vessels carrying CDC in bulk, but do not, during that vessel-to-facility interface, transfer those bulk cargoes from or to those vessels. 

The 2016 TWIC Reader final rule remains in effect for facilities receiving vessels certificated to carry more than 1,000 passengers, as this final rule does not affect those facilities. 

Research Finds F3 has Less Chronic but More Acute Toxicity than AFFF

Early studies on the impact of fluorine-free foams (F3) reveal that their acute toxicity is greater than PFAS-containing AFFF, but that their chronic toxicity is generally similar or lower than AFFF. These findings were shared during a webinar by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), a Department of Defense (DOD) program that is in collaboration with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency, the first research to examine the toxicity of F3 and provide DOD with the information necessary for selecting alternatives to AFFF. The research found that the six tested F3s showed slightly higher acute toxicity than AFFF but were still generally considered safe, while their chronic toxicity varied by species and formulation, tending to be lower than that of AFFF overall. This information is critical as DOD faces an incoming deadline to transition away from AFFF and as it continues to cite difficulties maintaining firefighting capabilities while transitioning to F3s. 

Washington State Finds No Significant Harm from AFFF Disposal Options

The state of Washington has finalized an environmental impact study finding that none of five evaluated disposal options for AFFF would have significant adverse impacts on communities or natural resources. In its Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Washington’s Department of Ecology analyzed five disposal options, including holding AFFF in place until advanced treatment technology becomes viable, incineration, solidification and landfilling, Class I deep well injection, and taking no action. The Ecology Department also previously considered collecting and transporting AFFF to a state constructed and operated storage facility but dropped that option from consideration due to fiscal limitations and liability concerns.

Washington is the first state to undertake an examination of the environmental and public health impacts of disposal methods for AFFF, and its Ecology Department can select its preferred AFFF disposal method and begin implementation at least seven days after the EIS is published, although department management is currently reviewing the EIS and is expected to make a decision by the end of November, at the earliest. ILTA continues to monitor the development of policy and findings impacting AFFF disposal and storage options. 

DOD Requests Nearly $600 Million to Transition Away from AFFF

The Department of Defense (DOD) is requesting over $850 million for fiscal year 2025 to fund efforts addressing PFAS. In the first-time report, DOD is seeking funding aimed at paying for the removal, disposal, and replacement of AFFF utilized at thousands of facilities and mobile assets. In the request, DOD expects to spend $549.2 million in its operation and maintenance (O&M) account to pay for the costs of changeout and disposal of AFFF as well as the purchase of a new product to replace the firefighting foam in its units. Most of this spending request links with DOD’s efforts to replace AFFF in its fire suppression systems with fluorine-free foam (F3) alternatives. AFFF-related work encompasses the majority of DOD’s total $853.2 million budget request for PFAS spending, with its overall request being a significant increase compared to previous fiscal years. 

DOD’s request for increased funding comes as the department faces a deadline to end the use of AFFF on military installations by October 1, 2025, though the department is expected to seek an additional one-year waiver next year. Moreover, DOD is currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR) in fiscal year 2025 that is set to expire December 20, at which time Congress will either have to pass another CR or a fiscal year appropriations bill. DOD’s increasing financial requests to transition away from PFAS-based firefighting foams underscore many of the similar logistical challenges faced by ILTA members. 

ILTA Moves to New Headquarters in Washington, DC! 

ILTA has a brand-new headquarters in Washington, DC! Located two blocks from the White House, ILTA can now be found at 655 15th St NW, Suite 230, Washington, DC 20005. If you are ever in the Washington, DC area, ILTA would be delighted to host you or your team.