As with every American presidential election cycle, private industry waits with bated breath to see how the next four years will impact the national economy.
In 2024, the bulk liquid terminals industry finds itself at a critical crossroads on several key policy matters affecting liquid logistics up and down the supply chain. Regardless of who is in the White House next January, the terminals industry will look for meaningful and bipartisan solutions on these topics.
Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS). Enacted in 2007, the CFATS governed terminal facility security protocol for over 15 years. The program, led by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), was a core component of terminal operations, outlining how to properly handle and store bulk liquid products of national security interest.
Unfortunately, in July 2023, Congress did not reauthorize the program, allowing its statutory authority to expire. Now, terminal facilities around the country are unsure how the government prefers the industry to handle these critical products, having to use the newly expired regulation as loose guidance.
As such, the terminals industry would appreciate the federal government moving swiftly to clarify its intentions with CFATS so that both the industry and the government can work together in protecting the local communities where terminals operate.
PFAS and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). As the terminals industry continues to explore alternatives to PFASbased firefighting foams proactively, the matter of addressing PFAS remediation will likely be a major talking point over the next four years. Terminal companies, complying with OSHA regulations, have utilized PFAS foams to combat fires at their facilities for decades. Now, as private industry continues to develop powerful firefighting alternatives, the bulk liquid storage industry is ready to work with OSHA and the Department of Defense on a national wind down of PFAS foams.
What must be prevented, however, is for the bulk liquid storage industry to be held liable for PFAS remediation under the CERCLA, more commonly known as Superfund. Placing the significant financial burden of addressing PFAS contamination on terminal companies would have considerable detrimental consequences for the entire liquid product supply chain. As passive receivers and good actors, holding terminals liable for these costs incurred to comply with necessary safety regulations would be inequitable.
As individual sectors are carved out for exemptions, the federal government must work with the terminals sector to ensure the matter of PFAS remediation does not fall to this industry.
Alternative fuel investment programs. Within the energy evolution, terminals are targeting emissions reductions by expanding onsite renewable energy generation, purchasing low-carbon electricity and implementing energy efficiency improvements throughout operations and beyond. To serve emerging low-carbon product value chains, terminals are investing in new or expanded infrastructure to store hydrogen, ammonia, sustainable aviation fuel, low-carbon marine fuel, renewable diesel, biofuels, ethanol and other lower carbon liquid commodities.
Today, there are federal programs that support financing for terminals to invest in emissions reduction strategies and to grow their low carbon commodity storage capacity. Grant programs such as the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program, the FAST-Sustainable Aviation Fuel program and the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act provide funding for one-time capital investments. Tax credits such as the Biodiesel Mixture Excise Tax Credit, the Biodiesel Income Tax Credit and the Alternative Fuel Mixture Excise Tax Credit provide incentives through continuous income.
Many of the markets and innovations terminals will rely upon to support these types of investments are costly and are in the initial stages of development. For terminals to ensure ongoing investments in critical infrastructure to meet the demands of the energy evolution, continued and expanded incentive programs at the national, state and local levels are necessary.
For more information, visit ilta.org.
