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March 23, 2012 NEWS AROUND THE STATE TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE MEET THE FOLKS AT LIBERTY GAS MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM BELLOMO FUELS POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC Exxon Retailer NJDEP Workshop Any time you’re in the process of buying a piece of property, you’re going to need lots of patience and plenty of fortitude before the deal closes. There’s paperwork to fill out, banks are involved, lawyers are drafting documents, and there’s an endless number of regulatory tasks that have to be considered before you can even think of signing away on that dotted line. So what do you do when 190 retailers are expecting to purchase their own properties in the next few months and have significant NJDEP-related documents to file? You bring NJDEP officials and the retailers together in one room, that’s what! As you know, thanks to our Right of First Refusal law, a number of Exxon lessee dealers are going to have the opportunity to buy their locations from Exxon in the next few months. However, before they can take ownership of the property, there are a number of permits and registrations that have to be applied for after things are official. To prevent any problems from derailing this process, and since the closing days for these locations are right around the corner, NJGCA will hold a workshop with NJDEP in early April. Whether these new station owners realize it or not, they will now be responsible for their own locations – and that means that all the environmental permitting must be in order. The workshop will focus on UST and vapor recovery registrations and permits. Since there are such a large number of people making these changes at the same time, NJDEP has agreed to help transition all of these cases in person rather than run the risk of something getting fouled up.. Our plan is to have everyone meet at the Crowne Plaza (soon to convert to a Holiday Inn) off the Parkway in Clark to conduct the workshop and complete the required paperwork. NJDEP officials will bring computers with them to sit you down and walk through the changes. Why are we doing this? Well, it’s simple: FINES! Over the last few months, we’ve heard from several members that ran into problems completing these renewal documents and were heavily fined. The violation fees were $10,000 – not a small sum of money by any stretch. What makes this even more upsetting is that those members who were fined were EXPERIENCED station owners who have been around the game for awhile and had properly paid the registration fees. Now imagine if you are new at this and you’re not sure how to get this accomplished? The image of 190 newly-minted property owners getting hit in the head with a $10,000 fine was almost to frightening to ponder, so we’re running this meeting to avoid the same fate. I’d like to thank NJDEP for their assistance and cooperation on getting this accomplished. You can read more about this in a special Exxon Retailer Bulletin we sent out Tuesday by clicking HERE. (NOTE: This link will redirect you to an outside site to view the PDF - Just click on the green DOWNLOAD button to view the file). Oh, and as a final thought on this topic, please be careful about the advice you get from so-called experts! Wednesday, our office received a call from a member who is in the process of buying his location and said that his attorney told him not to worry about the UST registration permit process. Why? Because his tanks were scheduled to be replaced in six months and the lawyer thought the contractor will take care of it all during the new installation. My response to this member was quite simple: Have your attorney call me so I can tell him to stop giving you bad advice. Although it is the general practice for contractors to do the paperwork at the time the tanks are replaced, current regulations must be complied with prior to tank replacement. Therefore, the dealer will be responsible for having this done when they close on the property and you cannot wait for six months. So, if this member listened to his attorney’s advice, he could have been slapped with a $10,000 fine. If ANYONE has recently purchased your property, even if you are NOT an Exxon dealer, you should attend this workshop. Just reach out to me and I’ll make sure to include you. However, if you do not RSVP to the workshop you CANNOT attend. There’s no giving in on this point since DEP wants UST registration numbers BEFORE the actual event takes place so they are prepared with the necessary records for your location. Your UST registration number can be found on the certificate that should be hanging in your front office. Last week I mentioned that I was going to follow up on a recent electric car event I attended two weeks ago at Fuji, who makes quick charge stations. They were using the new stations to charge a Nissan Leaf, which I have to say, looked really cool in person. As I promised you, here are the pictures:
As the price of gasoline continues to climb, more and more people are going to be looking in this direction. There’s nothing we can do to stop them, simply because we don’t have the ability to make more oil (or force Washington to let us drill in areas that are currently untapped). Whether you like it or not, the reality and the politics of the situation are what they are. This is going to be a permanent phenomenon and will eventually become the ‘new normal’ for consumers and the market. I still believe that the best option for you to consider right now is natural gas and there’s nothing that I see in the (short-term) horizon that will change that opinion. I know I’ve said a time or two that I’m gathering the pieces of this puzzle together so that we can have a serious workshop on CNG and other alternatives, so until then, bear with me! The state Legislature is continuing to push legislation that would encourage greater adoption of electric vehicles. I’ve told you before about A-566, a bill sponsored primarily by Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-Bergen) as well as Assemblyman Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex), Asm. Angel Fuentes (D-Camden), and Asw. Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen). Last Thursday this bill was passed by the New Jersey State Assembly with bipartisan support by a vote of 54-20-5. This bill would provide corporation business tax credits to businesses which install electric vehicle charging stations of up to 25% of the cost of the station and installation. Don’t forget there’s also A-821 a bill from Asm. Joe Cryan (D-Union) which would require newly developed shopping centers to make sure that at least 2% of their parking spaces are equipped with charging stations. Think about it, if the local mall or supermarket has charging stations out front and you don’t, why would anyone with an electric car bother to come to your business ever again? This is an issue you need to get out in front of in order to survive. There is news on the ethanol front. I’ve been updating you for months on the E15 issue. As you know, the gas you sell is 90% gasoline and 10% ethanol (E10). About a year and a half ago the EPA started to clear the path for retailers to sell gas that is 15% ethanol (E15) to cars model year 2001 and newer. One of the final hurdles to being able to actually get the fuel on the market has now been cleared. The EPA has agreed to the Renewable Fuel Association’s proposal for a Misfueling Mitigation Plan which is required to be submitted by any station which will sell E15. You can view a copy of that plan HERE. RFA has also created a comprehensive E15 Retailer Handbook that I advise you to take some time to look over and learn more about the product. Finally, in our POLICY PATROL this week, we already discussed two electric vehicle charging station bills above that are On the Radar. From the Manure Pile, is AJR-43, an Assembly resolution which declares the first Sunday in May to be World Laughter Day in New Jersey. Why? Because apparently there are some people who say that having an official Laughter Day will be “a positive manifestation for world peace and is intended to build a global consciousness of brotherhood and friendship”. That’s right, apparently all it takes to build ‘world peace’ is a few laughs. Someone should really mention that to the Iranians and Israelis, it might make gas prices go down! Thanks for listening – See you next week. Regards,
NEWS AROUND THE STATE 3/22/2012: Though unemployment numbers were stagnant In February, New Jersey added 9,700 private sector jobs and cut 1,000 government jobs. In a positive sign that the state’s economy is improving, the 8,700 net growth is the sixth month of job increases. 3/21/2012: As the price of gasoline rose 31 cents in 30 days, many Americans are growing increasingly more frustrated with the price at the pump. In light of President Obama’s decision to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to help combat high prices, many industry experts are sounding off that this won’t help alleviate the problem for a number of reasons. NJGCA Members will recall that Executive Director, Sal Risalvato, made the same statements in an April 2011 editorial piece. Click above to read more on this topic. 3/20/2012: In light of rising gasoline prices and continued trouble in the Middle East, a new technology could help extend the life of domestic oil fields that were previously seen as past their lifespan. Known as ‘pulsed injection’, this new process could help extract more oil from existing fields, helping to increase national production levels. Click above to read more on this new process. 3/18/2012: Executive Director Sal Risalvato recently commented on the introduction of several related bills aiming to permit internet lottery ticket sales. Sal said that the implementation of lottery ticket sales through the internet, email, or text messaging would hurt convenience store owners who depend on lottery ticket foot traffic for their sales. Click above to read what Sal had to say.
TRAINING CLASSES!! PLEASE NOTE: FUTURE DATES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 973-376-0066 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!!
MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE TMP Energy Solutions We have had a number of NJGCA members successfully reduce their rate per kWh signing up through our energy saving program. We know it’s difficult to collect 12 months worth of previous electric bills to get an “accurate” analysis when comparing a variable rate to a fixed rate, but we now have another option available. This new solution is a power purchase option; the other program is still in full force and has saved members thousands of dollars. If you sign up for the power purchase option, you will be grouped with other NJGCA members until the minimum KW demand is acquired. By pooling the member’s usage together, you will be able to take advantage, as large energy users do, and receive a lower kWh rate. Each member will receive their own contract. Each member is responsible to sign and return the agreement the day it is received in order to secure the price for their group. Please do your due diligence, so when you receive the proposal and the agreement you will be able to make an intelligent decision. If by chance, you still want us to assess you bills, to give you a price to compare, we will require12 months of your most recent utility bills. There are no bills required, but we would still like to have one bill per meter on file to check account #’s, meter #’s service addresses and other pertinent information incase there is a problem. The term of the agreement is for 12 months. During this term period, you will have price protection against any energy price increases along with a low fixed kWh rate. If you are interested in becoming part of this power purchase option, please contact Phil Apruzzi at the NJGCA. Remember when you sign up your energy through the NJGCA Energy Program, TMP makes a considerable donation to the NJGCA Scholarship Fund through their proceeds. This has no affect on your rate, and costs you nothing out of pocket. We hope to help hundreds of NJGCA members reduce their utility costs by participating in this and our other cost reduction programs. Our purpose, in the endeavor, is to help NJGCA members lower their energy costs while supporting the NJGCA Scholarship Fund. Contact Phil Apruzzi at 973-376-0066 or email Phil at phil@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members. We defeated BELOW COST SELLING We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law! We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes ...and MUCH MORE!! In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature! If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies. PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO: I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past. We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call. THE MEMBER TOOL BOX |
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