LIMITED ROOMS AVAILABLE FOR WASHINGTON CONFERENCE AND DAY ON THE HILL

If you plan on attending PMAA’s Annual Washington Conference and Day on the Hill, now is the time to make your room reservation. We no longer have the PMAA block rate at The Washington Court Hotel, which sold out for Thursday evening effective March 12th. Please contact “A Room With A View” for "hotel overflow" assistance at (800)780-4343. They will secure the lowest available rate within walking distance to The Washington Court Hotel for your entire stay. This is a FREE SERVICE for all PMAA attendees

The meeting will begin with a welcome reception including PAC silent auction on the evening of April 25. On the morning of April 26, following a PMAA legislative briefing, marketers will head to Capitol Hill for visits with their Congressional delegations. The PMAA Board of Directors will meet on April 27. A complete agenda and registration form is available by clicking here.

AUTOMOBILE EXECUTIVES ASK THE ADMINISTRATION TO EXPAND AVAILABILITY OF ETHANOL

The leaders of the largest U.S. automobile manufacturers have asked President Bush to take action to expand the availability of ethanol at the nation's gasoline stations so that the millions of ethanol-fueled vehicles they plan to make will be able to use the biofuel. The government and the fuel industry need to act to improve the fuel distribution infrastructure to make E-85 more available, the automakers said.

President Bush has set a goal of reducing the nation's gasoline consumption by 20 percent by 2017. He has set a target of producing 35 billion gallons of ethanol annually by then, nearly five times the target set for 2012 under current law.

In addition, the auto executives told the President that if all diesel vehicles today were fueled with B-5 (5 percent biodiesel) it would displace 1.85 billion gallons of petroleum per year and if the vehicles used B-20 (20 percent biodiesel) it would displace 7.4 billion gallons per year.

BIODIESEL TRAINERS DELIVERED TO YOUR DOORSTEP

The Petroleum Marketers Association of America, PMAA and, the National Biodiesel Board, NBB are pleased to offer a series of “FREE” comprehensive biodiesel educational programs designed to inform petroleum distributors on all aspects of biodiesel and Bioheat® fuel oil. Everywhere you turn biodiesel and ethanol training courses are being offered at prices as high as $2,000 per registrant. It’s no surprise that much of the information presented at these nationwide workshops has come directly from the NBB archives, where it all began.

NBB has elected to nurture the petroleum marketer’s growing appetite for biodiesel intelligence but in a convenient and cost effective way. Seize the opportunity to assemble your staff at your headquarters reducing expenses associated with typical workshops that strain both human resource staffing and travel budgets. In the past companies could only afford to send one or two representatives to multi-day sessions. How great would it be to have your entire team trained while saving thousands of dollars? Here’s how it works.

These one and half hour sessions have been designed to provide valuable information to those involved or interested in becoming involved with biodiesel while taking time to answer each and every question before closing the session. Each Webinar will cover:

·         Biodiesel basics, production, feedstock’s, ASTM specifications

·         BQ-9000 quality program and what it means to the industry

·         Real time production contrasted to prevailing demand

·         Biodiesel market drivers, how will you make money

·         Handling and distribution strategies, upstream and downstream

·         Cold flow and stability concerns and suggested remedies

·         Bioheat® fuel oil, is it truly oil heat for the Next Generation

And finally, this will be an opportunity to have questions answered “in detail” without a moderator waving his/her hands to bring it to a close. We hope you can join one of the following sessions: May 3rd, 10th and 17th (Thursday’s) 2:00 p.m. EST. To enroll, please contact Susan Isard, PMAA Manager of Programs & Administration, 703-351-8000, sisard@pmaa.org . Please include your attendee name and position, company name, e-mail address, phone number, whether you or your company currently handles Biodiesel and which class date you will attend. For more information on the agenda, please contact Paul Nazzaro, NBB Director of Petroleum Affairs, 978-664-5923 or write advancedfuel@comcast.net .

EPA ISSUES SCR LETTER

Earlier this week, EPA issued a formal letter to diesel engine manufacturers outlining EPA’s “intended approach” for the certification of diesel vehicles using SCR systems. Petroleum marketers have a special interest in SCR because each vehicle operator will need to periodically replenish supplies of liquid urea. This means that cardlock operators, wet-hosers and truckstops will need to inventory significant quantities of urea. Please email Laura Stewart if you have any questions. PMAA will be closely reviewing the EPA letter and updating members on the contents.

INCREASE IN ETHANOL BLEND-FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIRED IN SAFE ENERGY ACT

The Energy Subcommittee Chairman Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Subcommittee member Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) have introduced the Security and Fuel Efficiency Energy Act of 2007 (SAFE Energy Act). S. 875 is designed to improve energy security through improved international oil supply arrangements, a higher fuel efficiency level for vehicles, a greater number of dual fueled cars, increased incentives for the production of cellulosic ethanol and other emerging biofuels, and greater oil exploration and production.

Of particular relevance for petroleum marketers, the bill would require the Secretary of Energy to determine if enough progress has been made in building the infrastructure for ethanol-blend fuel (80-85% ethanol) five years after enactment of the bill. If the Secretary determines that there is not adequate infrastructure for the production and distribution of ethanol-blend fuel, regulations will be promulgated to ensure that each person who has an affiliate relationship or significant ownership interest in ten or more retail station outlets, makes available one or more pumps that dispense ethanol-blend fuel at not less than ten percent of stations during the first ten years and twenty percent thereafter.

Further, the SAFE Act would require the Secretary to submit a report to Congress on increasing the proportion of biodiesel sold to 5 percent of all diesel sales, and would require the Administrator of EPA to promulgate regulations providing for the uniform labeling of biodiesel blends that are certified to meet standards published by the American Society for Testing and Materials. PMAA has many concerns about the measure and will be discussing those with Senators Dorgan and Craig.

SENATE APPROVES NON-BINDING TOBACCO TAX HIKE

As an option to offer ways to fund the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the Senate accepted an amendment to a fiscal 2008 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 21) that was offered by Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA.). The amendment would allow the federal tobacco tax to be raised to help pay for the additional $35 billion that is needed for reauthorization of the SCHIP. The tobacco tax amendment which would raise the federal tax 61 cents for a total of $1 dollar, passed by a 59 to 40 vote, and the budget resolution passed by a 52-47 vote. Forty-six Democrats were joined by 13 Republicans in voting for the tobacco tax amendment.

The budget resolution is only an advisory for Congress, so the tobacco tax amendment is not binding. Passage of the amendment, which may also be considered in the House resolution, is evidence however; that there is a strong willingness on the part of Congress to impose higher tax burdens on tobacco products. PMAA has many concerns about tax increases of this type and the consequences for retailers.

CAYMUS NAPA VALLEY WINE IS ADDITION TO SILENT AUCTION OFFERINGS

Bob Bartlett and the Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association have generously donated two bottles of Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for the Small Business Committee PAC silent auction. The auction will take place on April 25 during PMAA’s meeting in Washington, D.C.

Both are Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle is a 1997 vintage and the other is a 2001 vintage. Over the past few decades, the Napa Valley has become synonymous with award winning Cabernet Sauvignon, and Caymus Vineyards is considered to be “The Best Winery for Cabernet Sauvignon in California.” Caymus is located in Rutherford and has been producing Cabernet Sauvignon since their inception in 1973. The 1997 silent auction bottle had a Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast point rating of 91 and the 2001 bottle had a rating of 92. This is good wine that is hard to come by in your local store!

Further silent auction contributions will also be greatly appreciated, and all of the silent auction items will be on display and open for bid on PMAA’s website in April. If you have items that you’d like to contribute to the silent auction, please contact Sherri Cabrera at 703-351-8000 x25, or SCabrera@pmaa.org.

MARCH 2007 PAC CONTRIBUTORS

A big thanks goes to the following individuals who contributed to the PMAA Small Business Committee (SBC) PAC during the March 1 – 28 timeframe:

Florida: J. Hulon Williams, III, Burton Eisenbud

Indiana: Mike Ackerman

New Jersey: James Swanton, Jr., Donald Steward, Jeffrey Jenkins, Gary W. Hough, David Bregenzer, John Bozik, Robert Woodruff, William Ward, Cassimer Boynton, Jr., Garnett Arnold.