The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/450863
Statement from nefI ChaIr Sharon PeterSon Happy New Year wishes to all! For the past four years, the New Eng- land Fuel Institute has implemented its 2010 Strategic Plan under the leadership of President/CEO Michael Trunzo along with past Chair Howard Peterson. With the onset of 2015, NEFI is taking further steps to build on its public policy mission and to enhance its educational services and member services. We begin the year strengthening and enlarging our staff in order to better serve you and to our in- dustry. In the fall of 2014, Mr. Trunzo es- tablished Northeast Public Affairs, LLC, a government affairs, lobbying and as- sociation management firm. NEFI is pleased to be among his first clients and to gain from his experience. Beginning in January 2015, Michael Trunzo will serve as NEFI's director of public policy and industry relations. Mr. Trunzo will continue to be the external face of NEFI, focusing his role on leading NEFI's policy development, and as liaison to the New England state associations and all allied regional and national associations, and the media. Mr. Trunzo will continue to work closely with Jim Collura, vice president of legislative affairs, and Mark Morgan, regulatory counsel, keeping the public policy team intact and ready to serve NEFI members 24/7/365 for their legis- lative and business compliance needs. NEFI has hired a new chief operat- ing officer, Martha Leshine, to manage the day-to-day administration and op- erations of the association, as well as to coordinate the NEFI Energy Expo and NEFI Visions Conference. Ms. Leshine, of Matairie, Louisiana, worked with NEFI during the 2014 Visions Conference and has been serving as NEFI EXPO coordi- nator until her recent appointment. Ms. Leshine has a Master's Degree in Business Administration and currently operates a not-for-profit organization in Louisiana. NEFI is re-entering the education field in 2015. The Education Foundation is reactivated and is coordinating the development of education curriculum for NEFI members and the home heat- ing industry at large. NEFI is focused on management and administrative train- ing, and regulatory compliance educa- tion for home heating companies. Look for exciting new announcements in the weeks ahead! Christine Viera-Trant, as member ser- vices administrator, will continue work- ing with all NEFI members on associa- tion services, dues collections, legislative action donations, education programs, and more. Donna Carcerano also con- tinues in her role as Benefits Administra- tor, serving NEFI members in the affinity areas for health, dental, life coverage, as well as the drug testing program and em- ployee assistance program. In this transition, the duties of presi- dent will be shared by the chairman and COO. These steps will allow us to main- tain the progress NEFI has made in the past four years, to grow the education component, and to focus on the impor- tant legislative and regulatory work and we engage the COO to coordinate these efforts. I am honored to serve as your Chair and to be working with such a dedicated and experienced team. I wish each of you success in 2015! Sharon Peterson, Chair, NEFI Pmaa: new Law SuSPendS enforCement of CdL drIver 34-hour reStart untIL SePt. 30, 2015 President Obama signed the FY 2015 Omnibus Appropriations bill into law 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 implement- ed in July of 2013. Congress said the sus- pension is necessary because the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration failed to gather sufficient data through real-life studies of driver fatigue to sup- port the new 34-hour restart provision. The law essentially forces the FMCSA to revert back to the "old" restart provi- sions in effect before July 1, 2013, which most petroleum marketers are familiar with and used for many years. The en- forcement suspension will remain in effect until Sept. 30, 2015, or until the FMCSA completes a comprehensive driver fatigue study. The new law man- dates 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 en- forcement personnel to ensure a smooth transition back to the prior version of the 34-hour restart. The law temporarily suspending en- forcement of the new 34-hour restart provision is good news for petroleum marketers. The new restart provision ef- fectively 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 overnight rest periods between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. actually forced drivers who work overnight to be off duty for longer than 34-hours in order to get a valid re- start 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. (See the FON website for more de- tails.) www.fueloilnews.com | fueL oIL newS | feBruarY 2015 21 Business OPeRATiOns N e w s