Government Affairs Brief

On June 26, ILTA again met with EPA alongside API and AFPM at EPA’s Research Park, NC headquarters. The purpose was to discuss several issues the trade associations plan to address in their respective Petitions for Reconsideration for the final Air Permitting Rules.

On ILTA’s part, ILTA communicated its message that the terminal membership needs relief on LDAR (‘leak detection and repair’ program) for subpart XXa as soon as possible.  EPA appears to understand the issues though (as usual) they did not commit to specific action.  ILTA briefly explained why a regulatory interpretation letter is not enough to resolve the applicability issues, and why EPA must take action to make the rule text provide clear relief. 

ILTA is excited to announce two new members of the Board of Directors.  Regina Zolnor, Vice President, MPLX Logistics and Storage Terminals and Brent Weber, President and CEO, Intercontinental Terminals Company.

Regina Zolnor joined MPLX Logistics & Storage Terminals in 2018, first as a Manager of Corporate Personal Safety & Process Safety, working her way up to Vice President over the last six years. Ms. Zolnor oversees around one hundred light product and asphalt terminals across the United States, housing around one thousand tanks and storing over 35 million barrels of shell capacity.

Prior to joining Marathon, Regina worked for both British Petroleum from 2005-2013, and then Andeavor/Tesoro from 2013-2018. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and an Masters of Business Administration from Yale University.

Brent Weber, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) joined ITC in 2016. He began at ITC as the Senior Vice President of Operations where he focused on Safety performance, Operational Excellence, and Efficient Terminal Operations. In early 2018, he transitioned to the role of Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, where he and his team were focused on continued growth of the Deer Park and Pasadena terminals as well as supporting ITC-Rubis in Antwerp. On April 1, 2021, Brent became President and CEO of ITC. Mr. Weber is also the Chairman of the Board for ITC-Rubis.

Brent began his career with Nalco Chemical Company in 1999 as a District Representative in Louisiana.  In 2001, he moved to Occidental Chemical Company in Geismar, Louisiana. He started as Process Engineer and progressed through multiple positions in both Organic and Inorganic manufacturing management. Mr. Weber moved to Houston, Texas in 2012 to become the Plant Manager of the Occidental Chemical Battleground Chlor-Alkali site. From 2014 to 2016 he was the Plant Manager of the Occidental Chemical La Porte VCM site. Brent is a graduate of Louisiana State University, where he received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1998.

From clothing to cookware, flame retardant per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals have become ubiquitous in our daily lives. For bulk liquid terminals specifically, PFAS compounds are used in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) or film-forming fluoroprotein foams (FFFP) foams because of their exceptional ability to create a stable and effective firefighting foam, particularly for extinguishing liquid fuel fires, such as those involving gasoline, jet fuel, or oil.

Due to their near-indestructability and persistence in local environments where they are used, however, states and the federal government are increasingly focusing on the environmental and public health consequences from the use of PFAS-based products. In March 2024, the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee held a hearing on, “Examining PFAS as a Hazardous Substance.” One month later in April, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard to protect communities from exposure to harmful PFAS, while also finalizing a rule to designate two widely used PFAS – PFOA and PFOS – as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund.

June 28, 2024

Via Electronic Mail and Overnight Delivery

The Honorable Michael S. Regan
Office of the Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Mail Code 1101A
William Jefferson Clinton Building North
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
Regan.Michael@epa.gov

RE: Petition for Reconsideration Request for Administrative Stay
NSPS Subpart XXa – Modification of Equipment

Dear Administrator Regan:

The International Liquid Terminals Association (“ILTA”) hereby petitions the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA” or “Agency”), pursuant to Section 307(d)(7)(B) of the Clean Air Act (“CAA” or “Act”),1 to reconsider and amend provisions of New Source Performance Standard (“NSPS”) Subpart XXa identified below, and to stay the applicability of the “collection of equipment” affected facility (40 CFR §60.500a(a)(2)) to the modification of existing facilities until the requested amendments to Subpart XXa have been adopted.

EPA adopted Subpart XXa as part of the final rule entitled National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Gasoline Distribution Technology Reviews and New Source Performance Standards Review for Bulk Gasoline Terminals, 89 Fed. Reg. 39304 (May 8, 2024) (“Gasoline Distribution Rule”). ILTA is preparing and will be submitting to you a separate petition regarding a number of other provisions of the Gasoline Distribution Rule. ILTA has singled out this one issue regarding Subpart XXa because of the ease with which the issue may be resolved and the immediate and significant adverse consequences of classifying minor maintenance and improvement projects as “modifications” and triggering applicability for entire facilities, should the proposed amendments not be adopted.

About 18 years ago, Mitchell Garner was searching for a career that had meaning, discipline and a place where strong bonds could be developed. He ended up accepting a position as an industrial firefighter for a company in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he and his colleagues were resident contractors to major oil and gas companies along the Gulf Coast.

“That career opportunity opened me to a world of knowledge about industry operations and industrial safety,” said Garner.

Years later, he transitioned to a terminal company in the Houston area where he spent nine years in their EHS department. Today, as Regional Manager of Safety and Emergency Response for LBC Tank Terminals, Garner truly enjoys the work he does.