NDPMA News January 2015 N D P E T R O L E U M M A R K E T E R S A S S O C I AT I O N

Valued NDPMA Members:

Once again, the issue of properly labeling dispensers and price signs is being brought to the attention of the

association office by concerned marketers and consumers. Please review the information on this topic to make sure

you are meeting all labeling requirements specified by the North Dakota Century Code.

Fuel Product Posting Rules

https://www.ndhealth.gov/wm/Publications/FuelProductPostingRules.pdf

You will also find in this article an example of a dispenser panel a marketer had custom made to insure proper

dispenser labeling.

Administrative Rules set forth by the North Dakota Department of Health

http://www.legis.nd.gov/information/acdata/pdf/33-34-01.pdf?20141223160922

North Dakota Century Code

http://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t19c10.pdf?20150102142225

19-10-03.1. Retail sale of alcohol-blended gasoline Label requirements.

A dealer may not sell at retail alcohol-blended gasoline unless the dispensing unit and any price advertising bear the

name of the alcohol blended with the gasoline if the alcohol-blended gasoline consists of one percent or more by

volume of any alcohol. The disclosure must be in letters at least the same size as those used for the label of the

basic grade of gasoline and must be next to the gasoline grade label. A producer of alcohol-blended gasoline may

provide a retailer with a label promoting the benefits of alcohol-blended gasoline, if the label at least meets the

requirements of this section.

19-10-23. Penalties

Any person violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter, or with any rule or regulation

issued pursuant thereto, is, unless another penalty is specifically provided, guilty of a class B misdemeanor.

Please make sure you are abiding by the law when it comes to proper labeling of price signs and dispensers.

Consumer Protection & Antitrust Division

Office of the Attorney General

The following is provided for informational

purposes only and is not legal advice by the

Attorney General.

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection

Division suggests that stations post on street signs the highest

price for gas, rather than the lower cash price. Posting a lower

price on the street sign with a higher price posted on the pump

could be considered misleading and could result in consumer

complaints. To avoid confusion and consumer complaints the

Consumer Protection Division suggests that street signs listing a

lower price contain an indication or advertisement on the sign

that it is a “cash price”. Thank you for your cooperation.

If you have questions, you may contact the Consumer Protection

Division at 1-800-472-2600 or 701-328-3404.

JAN UAR Y 2015 PAGE 2

NDPMA Executive Committee

Chairman

Paul Mutch

Mutch Oil - Grand Forks

Vice– Chairman

Tom Haahr

Farmers Union - Devils Lake

Secretarry

Deanne Schatz

Petro Stopping Center - Fargo

Treasurer

Paul Behm

Behm Enterprises - Minot

PMAA State Director

Matt Bjornson

Bjornson Oil - Cavalier

NDPMA Board of Directors

Immediate Past Chairman

Ken Astrup

Dakota Plains Coop - Valley City

Tony Bernhardt

Enerbase - Minot

Mark Benz

Benz Oil Company - Killdeer

Carla Borlaug

Mel Roth Oil - Hazen

Scott Dusterhoft

Dusterhoft Oil - Grand Forks

Chris Fitterer

Fitterer Oil - New England

Andrew Fjeldahl

Farmers Union - Berthold

Dave Froelich

Missouri Valley Petroleum - Mandan

Tracy Good

Good Oil - LaMoure

John Reese

United Propane & Fuel - New Town

Kris Wolla

Superpumper - Minot

Valued NDPMA Members:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the association office! We hope

the Christmas Holiday season was filled with great joy and happiness and wish

you and yours all the best in 2015!

Can you imagine that 2015! For those of old enough to recall the movie, “Back

to the Future” the reality of time flying by sets in when you think the setting for

this screenplay is actually 2015! No flying cars and time machines yet. Just a

few more gray hairs!

2015 also marks the beginning of North Dakota’s 64th State Legislative

Assembly. The session’s opening day is January 6. You can bet it will be

another busy year for NDPMA at the Capitol. While the association isn’t

pushing any of its own legislation at this time, it will be working to ensure all

your business interests are protected. We’ve already seen and/or heard of

proposed legislation regarding e-tobacco products as well as a sizable potential

increase in the cigarette tax. In addition, the 2015 session suddenly takes on a

whole new look with the downturn in the price of oil. This could profoundly

impact the state budget plans. Rest assured, there won’t be many dull moments

as the session unfolds.

As always, I will be counting on you, the valued NDPMA members, to make

calls to your respective legislators and come to Bismarck to work the halls if

needed. Your voices carry much weight with your local legislators and you can

play a huge role in impacting the outcome of legislation affecting your bottom

lines. We will be providing weekly legislative updates on the NDPMA website.

You will also find in this newsletter key Senate and House Committee

information with a list of the legislative committee members.

Unfortunately, it’s with great sadness that I tell you

of one man I can no longer count on working with on

legislative issues. John Job passed away in late

December after a long battle with cancer. John not

only represented Amcon, the state’s wholesale

distributors, but perhaps more importantly, the state’s

petroleum retailers on many legislative issues

directed at the convenience store industry. John was

there fighting for the small business owner.

John was a friend for many years, long before I ever

served in this position. Our bond as friends grew as

we fought together on legislative issues over the

years. My respect for him as a dedicated leader and

family man grew even more. It was during the last session, I found out what

kind of friend I had and NDPMA proponent we all had in John Job. The whole

issue of fluid milk licenses suddenly stirred up a great deal of controversy. Both

John and I were accused by certain lobbyists and legislators of not telling the

truth. I took the brunt of the criticism because I was still on the Hill daily. John

came up to the Capitol one day for breakfast hell bent on clearing my name. I

told John not to be concerned about my credibility. I would be fine. We were

fighting together for a cause that benefits our membership. Sometimes you take

John Job

PAGE 3 N D PMA N EWS JAN UAR Y 2015

a few bullets. Water off a duck’s back I told

him. We were doing it on the up and up. I

told him we knew who we were and what we

stood for, we weren’t liars. We were simply

representing our industry. Let others draw

their own conclusions.

The fact he was so willing to go to such great

lengths to help preserve my credibility

cemented our friendship forever. He will be

truly missed by a lot of people in our industry.

Thank you John, my friend. You will be

missed far beyond your legislative and

business prowess.

Best regards,

Mike Rud, President

JAN UAR Y 2015 PAGE 4

By Anthony Adragna | December 09, 2014

Petroleum Marketers Meet With OMB on Storage Tank

Rule

PMAA Argument: Compliance costs associated with

the proposed rule are actually $6,960 per station per year

rather than EPA estimate of $900.

PMAA Counterproposal: Monthly inspections should

depend on the type of equipment on site and equipment

testing requirements should be relaxed.

Timing: EPA intends to issue its final underground

storage tank rule by early next year.

Dec. 9 - Petroleum marketers urged the White House

Office of Management and Budget to reduce the

compliance costs associated with revisions to

underground storage tank requirements under the

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Rob

Underwood, director of congressional relations at the

Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA),

told Bloomberg BNA.

Compliance with the Environmental

Protection Agency proposed regulations

would cost $6,960 per gasoline station

per year, not $900 as estimated by the

agency, the groups told the OMB at the

Nov. 19 meeting, a record of which was

posted online.

The group made an alternative proposal

to OMB that it said would achieve the same level of

environmental protection with compliance costs of

$1,555 per station per year.

Small petroleum marketers, convenience stores and

airlines are among the groups that would be affected by

the revisions to the underground storage tank

requirements. A final regulation is expected early in

2015, according to the EPA.

“The last thing we want is an underground storage tank

leak, but our goal here is to lower the compliance costs

while preserving the same level of environmental

protection,” Underwood said.

PMAA in January 2013 urged the agency to withdraw

the regulation and to convene a Small Business

Advocacy Review panel, although the EPA declined to

do so. The association previously said the proposed EPA

regulation would cost the 233,157 affected facilities

nationwide a combined $1.37 billion annually (20 DER

A-25, 1/30/13).

Petroleum Marketers Urge White House To Cut Compliance Cost

of Storage Tank Rule

Proposed in 2011

In November 2011, the EPA released the proposed rule,

which would apply to underground storage tanks

containing petroleum or other hazardous chemical-

containing underground storage tanks. The tanks are

regulated under Subtitle I of RCRA.

Tanks regulated under Subtitle C of RCRA would not be

regulated under the proposal.

The proposed rule would mandate backup containment

systems for certain tanks, expand tank owner and operator

training requirements and mandate owners and operators

to periodically test tank components (76 Fed. Reg.

71,708).

Underwood said PMAA members most strongly objected

to interstitial monitoring requirements associated with

secondary containment systems, which would be among

the most expensive and burdensome requirements of the

rulemaking.

The PMAA counterproposal would retain the monthly

extension requirements but require them to be based

on the type of equipment used at the storage tanks,

rather than requiring one uniform inspection for all

tanks. The proposal allows most of the testing

requirements to be done at some point but lessens the

frequency of most testing.

In July 2013, the group spearheaded bipartisan Senate

and House letters urging the EPA to withdraw the

proposed rule over concerns about the effect it would

have on small businesses (144 DER A-31, 7/26/13).

Keeping Congressional, Legal Options Open

Underwood said PMAA would keep all its options open,

but would consider pushing “some options” in Congress

or legal action if major improvements were not

incorporated into the final regulation.

“We're just waiting, but we're eventually going to have to

put our heads together see if we'll sue EPA or go back to

Congress,” Underwood said.

PMAA previously successfully sued the EPA and

required it to convene a small business panel during the

early 2000s, according to Underwood.

Other participants in the meeting with OMB included the

EPA, Small Business Administration and two members of

PMAA according to meeting records.

For More Information

http://op.bna.com/env.nsf/r?Open=fwhe-9rmrjv.

Compliance with

the EPA proposed

regulations would

cost $6,960 per

gasoline station

per year

PAGE 5 N D PMA N EWS JAN UAR Y 2015

JAN UAR Y 2015 PAGE 6

FDA Is Showing Up In North

Dakota Stores

According to updated FDA guidance, retailers illegally

selling FDA regulated tobacco products will face a

steeper penalty increasing from $10,000 to $11,000 for

a sixth violation within a 48 month period. Currently,

first time violators receive a warning letter for the first

offense, and with every following violation, fines

climb from $250 to $11,000 for six violations within a

48 month time frame. Fines for fewer violations were

not raised, only the highest level fine.

FDA data show the number of inspections has in-

creased in 2014 to 113,000 store inspections per-

formed through the end of August as compared to

more than 109,000 store inspections in the entire year

of 2013.

For the full NACS store click here.

PAGE 7 N D PMA N EWS JAN UAR Y 2015

PAGE 8 JAN UAR Y 2015

U.S. DOT FMCSA – Driver Hours of Service

New Law Temporarily Suspends New CDL Driver 34-Hour Restart Rule

New law suspends enforcement of CDL driver 34-hour restart

until September 30, 2015.

President Obama signed the FY 2015 Omnibus

Appropriations bill into law this week that includes a

provision immediately suspending enforcement of the “new”

34-hour restart restrictions under 49 CFR 395.3 of the Federal

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations that were implemented in

July of 2013. Congress said the suspension is necessary

because the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

(FMCSA) failed to gather sufficient data through real-life

studies of driver fatigue to support the new 34-hour restart

provision. The law essentially forces the FMCSA to revert

back to the “old” restart provisions in effect before July 1,

2013 which most petroleum marketers are familiar with and

used for many years. The enforcement suspension will remain

in effect until September 30, 2015 or until the FMCSA

completes a comprehensive driver fatigue study. The new law

mandates the FMCSA to begin the new study within 90 days

of the law taking effect. The FMCSA announced it is working

with state and federal motor carrier enforcement personnel to

ensure a smooth transition back to the prior version of the 34-

hour restart.

The law temporarily suspending enforcement of the new 34-

hour restart provision is good news for petroleum marketers.

The new restart provision effectively reduced the maximum

number of hours a CDL driver could drive during a work

week from 82 hours to 70 hours. The new restart provision

requiring two over night rest periods between 1:00am and

5:00am actually forced drivers who work overnight to be off

duty for longer than 34-hours in order to get a valid restart to

the work week. It is important to understand, however, that the

law does NOT require the FMCSA to change the new 34-hour

restart regulations. Instead, it merely says the agency cannot

enforce the restrictions it placed on using the restart option.

This means enforcement will be based on the restart provision

that was in existence before July 1, 2013.

How does the law passed by Congress effect the 34-hour

restart requirement?

The new law passed by Congress prevents the Federal Motor

Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) from using federal

funds to enforce the “new” 34-hour restart provision that was

put in place on July 1, 2013.

The new 34-hour restart rule which will no longer be enforced

contained the following provisions:

Limited the use of the restart period to once during any

168-hour period;

Required restart to include two periods between 1:00am

to 5:00am for the driver to sleep.

Required a driver with multiple 34-hour periods off

within a seven-day period to indicate in log book or on

time records which of the 34-hour periods counted as the

official restart.

What is the effective date of the new 34-hour restart rule

enforcement suspension? The suspension of enforcement of the new 34-hour restart

provision became effective December 17, 2014.

How long will the new 34-hour restart rule enforcement be

suspended?

The law provides that the suspension is effective until September

30, 2015 or until the FMCSA completes a driver fatigue study of

real drivers in their actual driving environment. PMAA will alert

marketers when the suspension ends.

What are the compliance requirements for the 34-hour restart

period moving forward? During the period of enforcement suspension, drivers must

comply with the “old” 34-hour restart period in place before July

1, 2013. The old 34-hour restart rule allows drivers to restart their

weekly hours after taking at least 34 consecutive hours off-duty,

regardless of whether or not it includes two periods of time

between 1:00am and 5:00am. A driver can also utilize the restart

more than one time per week if necessary.

What about intrastate (in-state-only) drivers? The law prohibits the spending of federal dollars for enforcement

— including the reimbursement of states for their enforcement

practices — but it does not tell the states what they may or may

not do. Also, some states do not automatically adopt changes to

the federal hours-of-service rules. Therefore, not all states will be

suspending their enforcement of the restart restrictions, at least

not as of December 16, 2014. Check with your state for details

about their enforcement plans.

When will the regulations be updated? The federal hours-of-service regulations will not be changing as a

direct result of the new law. The law does not require the FMCSA

to change any rules, including the restart provision, and the

agency has not indicated that it plans to change the hours-of-

service rules due to the law. Once the FMCSA completes its study

of the restart restrictions, however, the agency may decide to

change the regulations at that time.

What kinds of studies does the FMCSA have to do? The law requires the FMCSA to undertake a rigorous,

independently peer-reviewed, “naturalistic study of the

operational, safety, health and fatigue impacts of the restart

provisions … on commercial motor vehicle drivers,” the law

reads. A “naturalistic” study involves the studying of actual

drivers in the field, not in a lab. The law says the agency has to

begin the study within 90 days.

What if a driver is cited for a restart violation? If an interstate driver is improperly cited for a 60- or 70-hour rule

violation due to the officer failing to count a valid restart as a

restart, the first step is to verify that there was no violation. If the

officer wrote the violation in error, the violation can be challenged

using the DataQs system y clicking on the following link: https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/Default.aspx?enc=4orUr4VSakAlYsjxOmHrCeQ158I

knHedB20QvqZJtcw=

PAGE 9 N D PMA N EWS JAN UAR Y 2015

JAN UAR Y 2015 PAGE 10

Two members of Congress that PMAA had supported

in the past were running for re election. They put the

GAO study requirement in the highway bill, which

effectively killed it when it was revealed that DOT had

no data to support the rule. $6-8 thousand per tanker

saved plus the ongoing maintenance cost of keeping

the complicated purging systems working.

PMAA also successfully lobbied Congress for a

provision in the 2012 highway bill blocking the DOT

from issuing a final rule until the General

Accountability Office (GAO) completed a report on

NDPMA / PMAA PAC’s Pay Big Dividends to Marketers

the reliability of DOT’s crash data, options for

addressing wetlines safety risks and review of the cost

benefits analysis supporting the proposed rule. PMAA

met with the GAO to convey industry concerns. The

final GAO report recommended that the DOT

conduct a more thorough cost/benefit analysis to

justify the rule and collect definitive crash data linking

wetlines to known safety risks. The GAO report will

likely alter the rule significantly or derail it altogether.

PMAA will continue to lobby against the wetlines rule at

both the DOT and in Congress.

PAGE 11 N D PMA N EWS JAN UAR Y 2015

Donating to the PAC can be fun by purchasing items at the live auction

PAC Donations over $500

Mark Benz Darin Adolphsen Brad Guggisburg Todd Krenelka Tomas Bale John Reese Matt Bjornson Barry Haggin Mike Rud Rich Jarenson Lonny Laughenberg Paul Mutch

PAC Donations $200 - $499

Lee Fitterer Tom Drew Gerald Dhuyuvetter Loren Theonnes Arlen Hjelmstad Deanne Schatz Kimberly Vosseteig Tim Esterling Rich Stapf Mark Bondy Ken Astrup

PAC Donations under $200

Chris Fitterer Gregg Fitterer Raf Mendoza Thomas Haahr Dean Tonsfeldt Richard Robinson Ryan Tonsfeldt Steve Kleespies Steve Loge Adam Noble Andy Fjedahl Bernie Bjorndahl Christoper Arment Dave Walth Kris Wolla Tony Bernhardt

Dave Froelich Tracy Good Mary Nagel Roger Richards Sharon Rud Tom Haahr Dwight Liming Carl Ness Karla Papineau Lori Thom Lyle Stevens Mike Kempel Duane Iverson Scott Fasteen Tom Drew

PMAA Small Business PAC Co-Chair Michael Fields

PMAA Chairman Sam Bell

JAN UAR Y 2015 PAGE 12

PAGE 13 N D PMA N EWS JAN UAR Y 2015

JAN UAR Y 2015 PAGE 14

NDPMA Lifetime Service Award is NDPMA’s highest honor for extraordinary and

significant service to the retail petroleum industry in

North Dakota.

2014 Inductee:

Merle Zander

2013 Inductee:

Loren Dusterhoft

2012 Inductees:

George Gottbreht – Danny Schatz – Dennis Krueger

2011 Inductees:

Ed Uhlich - Art Perdue

2010 Inductees:

Duane Mutch - Arthur Wheeler - Richard Froelich

Chairman’s Banquet

2014 Inductee Merle Zander with his wife Eileen and daughter Jill

Current Chairman Paul Mutch recognizes Ken Astrup for his services as past Chairman of NDPMA.

Thank you Linda Astrup, a great woman supporting her

husband.

PAGE 15 N D PMA N EWS JAN UAR Y 2015

JAN UAR Y 2015 PAGE 16

25th Annual Petroleum Convention & Expo

PAGE 17 N D PMA N EWS JAN UAR Y 2015

JAN UAR Y 2015 PAGE 18

PAGE 19 N D PMA N EWS JAN UAR Y 2015

What You Don't Know About Your Cash By Betsi Bixby

After two decades in the business,

thinking I'd seen it all, this week I got

shocked.

I was hosting our PetroAnswers Credit Huddle,

something I do 50 minutes once a month, for credit pros

in the industry. We get some really great Credit

Managers on this call. In fact this week, one out of

every five on the call is responsible for over $20 million

in receivables.

The focus topic this month was "Smoothing out Snags

in Your Billing Processes". To open the discussion, I

provided a list of common snag areas. And this is

where I got shocked. Eighty percent of the credit pros

said they are having ongoing, recurring, product pricing

problems.

For most, they are handling the problems before the bad

price went to the customer but it was severely delaying

the process; and hence, when payment is received. For

the less fortunate, they are dealing with Credit/Rebill

issues because it is the customers who are finding the

errors. Ouch!

Once I discovered the magnitude of this problem, we

delved deeper and I heard about paper trails and audits

that had worked for some but were basically CYA

maneuvers that still slow the billing process to a crawl.

Worse yet, horror stories of massive pricing

spreadsheets that credit could not access (or were

frightened if they did) to even get a correct price. And

here is shocker number two. When I asked if they had

confronted these problems in the billing process, the

majority said no because they felt it was not within their

authority!

So bills are going out late or wrong, but because it is

pricing that belongs with "Sales" they feel powerless.

Could this be happening at your company? It's highly

probable!

So let's focus on solution steps:

1. Ask your credit people if pricing is an issue.

2. If yes, get details - how often, what products, and

why, as well as the cost of delayed collections

which will serve as a motivator.

3. Assemble a "Solutions Group" consisting of

Credit, Sales, Dispatch and GM or owner.

4. Determine best practices pricing (At Meridian, we

like matrix systems)

5. Automate as much as possible including a way to

input special pricing and have the system record

who did the pricing.

6. Address quotes, purchase orders and special

pricing.

Pricing should not be off limits and taboo to your billing

and credit people, especially if it's holding up cash

receipts!

And this brings me to an even bigger point of culture.

The healthiest companies I know, with the fattest

bottom lines, have created a culture where it's not just

OK to question everything, it's expected. These

companies have created an atmosphere of radical self-

responsibility where people actively look for ways to

make the company better through personal action.

In these companies, there is not blame or worry about

going outside of authority lines or stepping on people's

toes in other departments. It's a culture of fixing things,

where failure is simply a learning experience.

This culture is something we drill on constantly at

Meridian live events. If you haven't checked out

www.BestPetroEvent.com, I invite you to do so. The

number one leadership guru in the world, John C.

Maxwell, is this year's headliner speaker.

I wonder what would happen to your billing processes

and your cash flow if everyone in your company

understood and used Servant Leadership. Exciting to

think about isn't it? Maybe I wouldn't get shocked on

Credit Huddles anymore!

Since 1991, Meridian has provided insight and services

to over 3,400 petroleum marketers, growing and

expanding their market share, while increasing their

cash flow and profits. Being the leading petro valuation

provider in the nation, Meridian is also trusted for buy/

sell transactions. To find out what Meridian can do for

you – Call us 866-888-0327.

JAN UAR Y 2015 PAGE 20

Dakota Prairie Refining Prepares to Open By Katherine Lymn - The Dickinson Press

Dakota Prairie Refining, the country’s first

greenfield refinery since 1976, began receiving

shipments of Bakken crude to its facility west

of town in early December.

The $350 million refinery, a partnership

between MDU Resources and Calumet

Specialty Products Partners, processes 20,000

barrels of Bakken crude daily, producing about

7,000 barrels of diesel each day. Byproducts,

like naphtha, ship by rail to other facilities for

use or for further processing.

Officials lauded North Dakota’s second

refinery at the announcement of the project,

saying it would use an abundance of crude oil

to help with the diesel shortage in the state,

especially for the agricultural sector.

The energy sector, too, demands diesel. The

state currently has an estimated 53,000 barrels a

day demand for diesel, and that’s expected to

hit 75,000 barrels by 2025.

The refinery sent eight of

its operators to Bismarck

State College and paid for

their expedited four-

month training in process

plant technology program.

Now that construction,

which started March 2013,

is complete, the refinery

employs about 90

permanent staff, the kind

of workers North Dakota

Senate Majority Leader

Rich Wardner has said

will settle in Dickinson,

rather than being transient. At the peak of construction,

about 600 workers were building the refinery.

North Dakota’s only other refinery is the Tesoro

refinery in Mandan, which processes 71,000 barrels a

day and was built in 1954.

PAGE 21 N D PMA N EWS JAN UAR Y 2015

JAN UAR Y 2015 PAGE 22

The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2015

optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the

deductible costs of operating an automobile for business,

charitable, medical or moving purposes.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, the standard mileage rates for

the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be:

57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, up from

56 cents in 2014

23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving

purposes, down half a cent from 2014

14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable

organizations

The standard mileage rate for business is based on an

annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an

automobile, including depreciation, insurance, repairs, tires,

maintenance, gas and oil. The rate for medical and moving

New Standard Mileage Rates Now Available; Business Rate to Rise in 2015

IR-2014-114, Dec. 10, 2014

purposes is based on the variable costs, such as gas and oil.

The charitable rate is set by law.

Taxpayers always have the option of claiming deductions

based on the actual costs of using a vehicle rather than the

standard mileage rates.

A taxpayer may not use the business standard mileage rate for

a vehicle after claiming accelerated depreciation, including the

Section 179 expense deduction, on that vehicle. Likewise, the

standard rate is not available to fleet owners (more than four

vehicles used simultaneously). Details on these and other

special rules are in Revenue Procedure 2010-51, the

instructions to Form 1040 and various online IRS publications

including Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax.

Besides the standard mileage rates, Notice 2014-79, posted on

IRS.gov, also includes the basis reduction amounts for those

choosing the business standard mileage rate, as well as the

maximum standard automobile cost that may be used in

computing an allowance under a fixed and variable rate plan.

PAGE 23 N D PMA N EWS JAN UAR Y 2015

Every year thousands of people are injured while

shoveling snow. Strains and sprains of the back and

shoulders are most common, but shoveling can also lead

to slips and falls on icy walkways. These tips can help

your employees stay safer while shoveling this winter.

Automate When Possible

When possible, skip the manual snow removal by using

plows or snow blowers. These time savers can eliminate

many of the injury risks associated with shoveling.

Shovel Early and Often

Don’t wait until the snow has become packed down or

piled up. Start shoveling early when snow is still light

and manageable.

Practice Good Form

Instead of lifting snow up, try to push the snow forward

as if the shovel is a plow blade. Don’t throw snow over

your shoulder or to the side, as this requires a dangerous

twisting motion. Walk the snow to your desired location

and drop it.

Use a Smaller Shovel

A smaller blade limits the amount of snow that can be

lifted at once, putting less strain on the body. To reduce

snow buildup, periodically spray the blade with a

silicone-based lubricant or furniture polish.

Safer Snow Removal Choose Footwear Carefully

To prevent slips, employees working outside in winter

weather should wear boots with a rubber or neoprene

sole and deep treads for traction. Slip-on ice cleats can

also be helpful, though these need to be removed before

coming inside.

Take Care of Yourself While Shoveling

Shoveling snow is a physically demanding tasks.

Individuals who are usually sedentary or have a medical

condition may not be the best choice for shoveling

duties. While shoveling, dress in layers and start slowly,

taking time to stretch as you warm up. Take breaks when

needed and stay hydrated.

Article courtesy of the Risk Improvement Department,

EMC Insurance Companies, Des Moines, Iowa. For more information, go to www.emcins.com and select Loss

Control.

The controversy continues over EPA’s decision to delay finalizing the 2014 RFS standards including the corn

-based ethanol mandate. Subcommittee Chairman James Lankford (R-OK) noted that statutorily EPA must

finalize each year’s volume requirements by November 30th of the prior year. EPA said the delay is due to

differences among stakeholders over how volumes should be set in light of lower gasoline consumption and

on what basis the RFS volumes should be waived. Unfortunately, EPA was unable to give an exact date on

when the 2014 or 2015 volume requirements would be released.

The 2014 proposed rule called for a modest reduction to the corn-based ethanol mandate at 13.01 billion

gallons to be blended with gasoline. PMAA supported the reduction to 13 billion gallons because it would

prevent refiners from having to cut back production,

export production or buy expensive RINs to maintain

an E10 blend.

NDPMA, PMAA and its members contend moving to

higher ethanol blends including E15 and E85 is a

major obstacle due to incompatibility with existing

UST equipment and potential misfueling.

Congress is expected to review the RFS next year.

EPA Delays Final 2014 RFS Ruling

ND Petroleum Marketers Association PO Box 1956

Bismarck, ND 58502

Phone: 701-223-3370

www.ndpetroleum.org

Mike Rud, President

Paul Mutch, Chairman

Mary Nagel, Executive Administrator