Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/668677
31 Oil Prophets LEGAL CORNER with ADEM and in fact MUST be registered with ADEM to be subject to and come under the benefits of the Underground and Aboveground Storage Tank Trust Fund. While few compared to underground tanks, we have had reported releases resulting from aboveground tanks over the years and probably in as many cases as not, the release was ineligible for Trust Fund benefits simply because the tank was not registered with ADEM. It's often a judgment call for an AST owner, but I'm hard-pressed to see why, if you are using ASTs in your business, you wouldn't registered them with ADEM if for no reason other than receiving benefits under the Trust Fund in the event of a release. I am not an employee of the Petroleum & Convenience Marketers of Alabama. I throw this in just for fun as many people in the industry have believed that I was an employee of P&CMA and the AOA before that. I know it seems like it sometimes, and I am certainly proud of my longstanding, close relationship with the industry through P&CMA. When I was first hired as the Association's lawyer in late 1987/early 1988, I was a young partner in a large Montgomery law firm. I left that firm 20-plus years ago and now have a five-lawyer firm in Montgomery. I have repeated this story a number of times, but I remember years ago Bart Fletcher calling the office one day looking for me and talking to my long-time secretary who told him that I was in depositions. Bart's response was, "What do you mean, he's in depositions…he has other clients?" I am more than proud of my association with this industry. There is a Circuit Judge in Southeast Alabama who refers to me as the "oil lawyer" or "gasoline lawyer." I will be in docket calls in his courtroom and when he calls my case, invariably he will say to me, "I saw the oil lawyer come in the courtroom back there." I wear that label with great pride and thank you again for the opportunity you have given me to be a part of this industry for so long. IV. The P&CMA PAC Patrons' Club, with an initial goal of 25 association members statewide, represents those members who have made the highest commitment to the association's political activities by contributing to the P&CMA PAC; PMAA's SBC PAC and Marketer Defense Fund; and NACS PAC. Patrons' Club members receive benefits and recognition throughout the year in recognition of their continued commitment to the association's governmental affairs efforts. Members of the P&CMA Patrons' Club: (as of January 1, 2016) David Collins D C Oil Company, Inc. James L. Eidson Eidson Petroleum, Inc. Jim Hays Hays and Son Oil Company, Inc. Wayne A. Hollar The Hollar Company, Inc. Tim Shirley Home Oil Company, Inc. Jonathan Tang Ira Philips, Inc. Jim McGuire McGuire Oil Company, Inc. Richard M. Mayers Midstates Petroleum Company R. Shayne Lord R. S. Lord, LLC Jim Parr Parr's, Inc. Guy J. Spencer, III The Spencer Companies, Inc. James Wadsworth Wadsworth Oil Company of Clanton, Inc. PAC Patrons' For information on becoming a PAC Patron, please contact Bart Fletcher at the association office.