New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, comptroller Scott Stringer, and other trustees of the city’s $189-billion pension funds laid out a goal Jan. 10 to divest from fossil fuel investments within five years. The mayor also said the city has filed a lawsuit against the five largest investor-owned fossil fuel companies “as measured by their contributions to global warming.” The city is seeking damages from BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Royal Dutch Shell “for the billions of dollars the city will spend to protect New Yorkers from the effects of climate change.” The compensation sought is for damages alleged to have already caused harm and to address additional harm expected over the course of this century. “New York City’s lawsuit seeks to recover the...

Lisle, Ill.-based IC Bus will provide 44 CE Series propane school buses to Franklin County Schools in Alabama under a contract award. The buses will have Power Solutions International’s (PSI; Wood Dale, Ill.) 8.8-liter LP engine. Purpose-built for the school bus industry, the CE Series with a PSI propane engine is designed to provide diesel performance with higher torque at lower engine speeds. “IC Bus is honored to partner with Southland International Trucks in providing Franklin County Schools environmentally friendly, reliable, and safe transportation,” said IC Bus vice president and general manager Trish Reed. “We are seeing strong sales of our propane-powered school buses throughout the country and this sale is another example of continued interest in our alternative powertrains to transport students to and...

Several local propane professionals were recently elected to serve as Directors and Officers of the Missouri Propane Education and Research Council (MOPERC).The Council recently installed its new leadership at the group’s winter meeting January 4, 2018 in Ridgedale, Mo. The slate was approved at the MOPERC fall meeting in Jefferson City, Mo., and includes representatives from across the state who serve in various capacities. Officers elected were: • Chair –Roger Hoff, Hoff Brothers LP-Gas, Perryville, Mo.; • Vice Chair—Luke Fitzpatrick, MFA Oil, Jefferson City, Mo.; • Treasurer—Nick Goodrich, Goodrich Gas, Crocker, Mo. Five incoming Directors were appointed or reappointed to three-year terms: • Luke Fitzpatrick, MFA Oil, Jefferson City (reappointed); • Marty Lerum, Propane Resources, Mission, Kansas (reappointed); • Kevin Pearson, Ferrellgas, Nixa, Mo.; •...

The Internet has revolutionized the way business is conducted, and continues to change our lives with each passing day. Social media has also transformed our culture, perhaps equally or more profoundly than the invention of print, radio, and television. A recent Pew Research Center study found that two-thirds (67%) of Americans report getting at least some of their news on social media — and two in 10 reporting they do so often. Today, social channels have grown to serve a variety of personal and professional purposes. These platforms provide an avenue to build a brand image, communicate with and cultivate loyal customers or, better yet, serve as brand advocates. However, a business without a clear social media policy in place 1) risks damage to its brand, 2)...

(January 9, 2018) — The compliance deadline for installing electronic logging devices (ELDs) was Dec. 18, 2017, and although the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) has received questions about a rumored delay to the compliance deadline, no guidance has been published by the Trump administration or the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to that effect. NPGA cautions against false claims the administration or FMCSA intend to publish guidance to local law enforcement recommending that while citations could be issued for failure to install and utilize ELDs by Dec. 18, fines associated with citations will be postponed until April 2018. ELDs connect with a commercial motor vehicle engine to automatically record driving time to ensure adherence to hours-of-service (HOS) regulations. ELDs do not change or...

(January 2, 2018) — Last Thursday, December 28, 2017, Western Gas issued a voluntary safety recall for potentially under-odorized propane distributed from two facilities in Highlight and Newcastle, Wyoming to locations in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Western Gas is cooperating with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to conduct this voluntary recall for propane distributed between April 2015 through October 2017. Western Gas has notified its potentially affected customers, which are typically wholesale distributors (i.e., suppliers such as Kiva Energy, Colorado Propane Marketing, Plains, NGL, etc.) that re-sell the propane to other distributors or retailers and consumers. Western Gas is working with its customers, and their customers, to help ensure that their propane contains a sufficient level of odorant. Local suppliers are...

(December 29, 2017) — Where are the bodies?” “Where is the fire?” These questions are a not-uncommon response to some proposals or docket requests I make at various committee meetings where I participate. Maybe I’m suggesting that an isolated incident should cause us to rethink a code requirement, or it could be that I see a trend developing and it needs to be dealt with before unacceptable consequences are experienced. I attend these committee meetings representing enforcement activities in my state. Sometimes I’m unofficially representing a larger enforcement community. There is an informal communication web among enforcers from around the country, with someone from nearly half of the states on the email list. We raise subjects of concern within this group to see how other...

By now, you’ve probably heard about Mariner East 2 (ME2). Since the pipeline is in our backyard, it’s one of those things we feel we should understand, even if we’re a little confused. So let’s walk this through. To begin, it was just announced that operation of the pipeline has been delayed until Spring 2018, from an original start date of November. This isn’t a surprise to anyone, least of all anyone involved in shipping NGLs to Marcus Hook, Pa. for the export market. The capacity of the second Mariner pipeline is approximately 11.5 million gallons per day of propane, butane, and ethane. Much of the propane supply that was scheduled to be shipped on ME2 and then exported from the East Coast now needs...

(January 1, 2018) — The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) recently announced that the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration has issued a regional hours of service waiver for the Eastern, Midwestern, and Southern Service Centers effective immediately through the duration of the emergency or January 14, 2018 (whichever occurs first). Click here to download the Emergency Declaration . The states covered in this Declaration are: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, DC, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Please note this Declaration is not an exemption from the controlled...