Propane Days 2017 Opened Lines of Communication with Lawmakers

Can retail propane marketers have an effect on legislation that impacts the propane industry by visiting congressional offices in Washington, D.C.? It’s not a cheap trip, but for a number of marketers and other industry leaders who went to Propane Days June 19-21, 2017, it’s a mission they believe makes a difference and an investment they are willing to make for the good of the industry.

The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), which moved to Washington 15 years ago in order to focus more on legislative matters, has been inviting marketers to the capital since 2005 for days of visiting legislators and promoting the industry’s agenda. After years of holding “fly-ins” to try to stop legislation that would damage the industry, Propane Days was built around the principle of awareness. The goal has been to elevate the stature of the industry so that propane is not just lumped in with a variety of other fuels. Propane is a clean, safe, environmentally friendly, and reliable means of fueling many energy needs in the United States, but that really doesn’t matter if legislative decisions are made when legislators don’t know about it.

The early vision in 2005 was for many sectors of the propane industry to be represented — distributors, manufacturers, producers, and marketers — in order to help educate policymakers about every aspect of the industry. “We really have some great visits with our state legislators and their staff when we arrive with a diverse group from Missouri,” said Steve Ahrens, executive director of the Missouri Propane Gas Association. “This year we had representatives of both large and small retail companies, a transportation company, a safety director from a large multi-state company, and some vendors with unique expertise. It really helped us give a 360-degree overview of the industry in each meeting.” Missouri has been a regular with a contingent at Propane Days since its inception. “Senator Blunt was standing there waiting for us,” Ahrens said.

The preparation for Propane Days also is helpful to illuminate opportunities with lawmakers who may not represent traditional propane districts, Ahrens said. “Through NPGA’s voting analysis, I was surprised to learn that the congressional representatives from our metropolitan areas have pro-propane voting records. Propane’s environmental benefits are not inconsequential for cities facing non-attainment air quality, for example. That gives resonance to the benefits of autogas and commercial applications. We can also talk about the danger of methane leakage from aging natural gas systems, which highlights the urgency for utilities to prioritize replacement of core infrastructure over the build-out of additional capacity into our markets.”

Of course, in addition to bringing general awareness of propane to the legislators, there are always plenty of issues that need to be addressed. With the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) three-year extended deadline for compliance with third-party certification of crane operators about to expire in November, the agency’s promise of alternatives never materialized. Phil Squair, NPGA’s senior vice president of public and governmental affairs, said this is one example where the industry needed a lot of constituents asking members of Congress to push OSHA for action. Since Propane Days, OSHA has posted on its website that it will delay the law for another year. “That is, of course, not all we want though,” said Matt Bisenius, director, legislative affairs. “Our goal is a rule that better fits our members who simply deliver propane tanks to set at consumers’ homes.”

Squair explained that Propane Days is not only effective during the days industry members visit in June each year, but “already, those of us here in Washington year-round have had many opportunities to remind members of Congress as well as agency leaders that we recently had several hundred constituents in town,” he said. “Propane Days is doing exactly what we always hoped it would: causing decision-makers to associate our industry with constituents from districts.”

A key next step on the crane issue came on July 11 when NPGA leaders held a briefing for the Congressional Propane Caucus. The caucus was formed in May 2015 to provide a bipartisan forum to engage members of Congress, their staff, and the public on issues of importance to propane consumers and the propane industry. The caucus will seek as many congressional signatures as possible to convince OSHA leaders that requiring propane employees setting tanks to be certified in the same manner as large crane operators makes no sense. “The letter does not get into the weeds of what exactly OSHA should do, but we want to make a splash with OSHA that Congress is speaking to them loudly and clearly and saying, resolve this!” Bisenius said.

Leslie Anderson, the new president and CEO of the Propane Gas Association of New England (PGANE), said the six states represented by the association had a good group of 15 individuals who met with legislators from five of the six states. “We felt we had good response and support for our concerns regarding the crane issue,” Anderson said. “We also convinced Congressman Bruce Poliquin of Northern Maine to join the Propane Caucus. Congressman Poliquin is arranging to visit a propane facility in Maine very soon.” In addition to raising issues, the New Englanders focused on education about propane. “We shared a brochure PGANE put together on the environmental and health benefits of propane.”

She noted one of the issues NPGA wanted Propane Days participants to focus on hits close to home for Northeast U.S. companies. “With all the talk of border tariffs early in the Trump administration, there was a lot of concern as so much wholesale propane comes to the Northeast from Canada. Most legislators told us they believe the idea of new tariffs is dead.”

“While the propane industry is concerned about the border adjustment tax, we see 80% to 90% of the blueprint for tax reform as positive for the propane industry,” NPGA’s Squair pointed out. He noted this is one area where industry members are not necessarily making a specific ask, but are letting members of Congress know their feelings.

According to Deb Grooms, CEO of the Iowa Propane Gas Association, 15 members represented Iowa and met with both Iowa senators and Congress members or staff at all four congressional offices. She noted most offices were frustrated at the slow pace of appointments to executive branch positions, which is making it tough to get some things accomplished. Legislators and staff members were supportive of their concerns but were worried that getting agreements with executive branch officials would be slowed down by delayed appointments.

Squair said the slowness of appointments is certainly a problem for getting changes made in how government agencies do their work. “We might be getting more progress on the crane issue if we were not still without an OSHA administrator. We’ve been having to go to the Department of Labor, which oversees OSHA.” He noted that staff shortages and open leadership positions are not conducive to change within agencies. “We’re dealing with a lot of agency inertia. Change often requires a lot of attention from many Congress members that change is needed,” he added.

One area where legislators could assist NPGA would be to support the association as its seeks a change in how the Energy Information Administration calculates data that overstates availability of supply because it does not take exports into account. “This is an area where they agree with the premise, but say they don’t have the mandate, staffing, or resources. A strong representation at Propane Days combined with pressure from the Congressional Propane Caucus can help create a mandate and cause staffing and resources to be prioritized,” Squair commented.

Ten members of the North Carolina Propane Gas Association met with 10 of 13 legislative offices of their state. After meetings, they felt they had support on getting an extension, and later an exclusion, for propane on the crane rule. “We also recruited Congressman Walter Jones to the Propane Caucus,” said John Jessup, the state association’s executive director. A site visit with Rep. Jones is scheduled for August 21.

For Derek Dalling, executive director of both the Michigan and Ohio propane gas associations, a major focus was with the Michigan delegation and concerns about the possible shutdown of Enbridge’s Line 5 Pipeline, which flows under the Strait of Mackinac and supplies 65% of the propane to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and 55% for the entire state. Consistently the largest propane-consuming state in the U.S., the Michigan association believes propane prices would go up 10 to 35 cents per gallon if the pipeline goes away. There would also be an impact as up to 30% of crude oil for refineries in the Detroit area comes through the Line 5 Pipeline. Environmentalists cite catastrophic damages that would result if there were a rupture under the Strait of Mackinac.

With a handful of the Michigan legislators supportive of closing the Line 5 Pipeline, there is concern that marketers well beyond Michigan will be affected by supply issues. Other states likely to be hit include Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and New York. Ontario, Canada would also be impacted.

Although issues like Line 5 in Michigan, the crane rule, tax reform, and maintaining supply are not quickly resolved in a sit-down meeting, the industry members who attend Propane Days believe they are able to make a difference. These members are making sure that the lines of communication remain open and that members of Congress are educated about the benefits of propane and the needs of the industry to best serve consumers. John Brooks, a Missouri marketer and past state director, who has been a regular at Propane Days since 2005, mentioned there are other great aspects of Propane Days besides visiting congressional offices. “The Propane PAC Party at 101 Constitution Avenue was a spectacular place for the PAC donors. Everyone in the industry should experience the great view looking down over the top of the Capitol Dome.” Like Brooks, many attending the event also enjoyed taking advantage of the opportunity to visit the many historic attractions in Washington, D.C. during their stay. —Pat Thornton