Government Affairs Brief

Following overwhelming bipartisan approval in late April of a $35 billion measure to clean up the nation’s water systems, and the unanimous Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approval on May 26 of a $311 billion highway bill, President Biden hopes to carry that spirit of cooperation to his ambitious multitrillion-dollar infrastructure package. Unfortunately for him, moments of cooperation in deeply divided Washington can be fleeting. 

The Colonial Pipeline outage came amid a wave of new cyberattacks, with several more sophisticated and far-reaching than ever before. Over the past year, roughly 2,400 ransomware attacks have hit corporate, local and federal offices.  

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center yesterday forecasted a more-active-than-normal hurricane season this year. Thankfully, the members of the International Liquid Terminal Association were already prepared with drills, emergency preparedness plans and ongoing communications with government, emergency response and industry partners. The Atlantic hurricane begins June 1 and extends through November 30.

The recent ransomware attack that brought Colonial Pipeline – and nearly the entire East Coast petroleum product supply chain – to its knees highlighted operational issues where the terminal industry could help overall fuel supply resilience with assistance from regulators.