NACS Vice President of Government Relations speaks before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy.
On April 19, NACS Vice President of Government Relations John Eichberger testified before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, on behalf of the convenience and fuel retailing industry, expressing the merits of the Domestic Fuels Protection Act (H.R. 4345).
The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) is in favor of the legislation, which would do the following:
• Help retailers overcome the challenges of selling new fuels if the goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) are to be realized.
• Provide a way for existing retail equipment that is technically compatible with new fuels to be legally recognized as such, thereby eliminating some of the costs associated with unnecessary equipment replacement.
• Protect retailers from retroactive liability should today’s laws governing fuel sales change in the future.
• Remove key legal impediments that make it difficult and impractical, or even impossible, to bring new fuels to market.
Eichberger noted that the convenience store industry is committed to complying with today’s laws and regulations, and that NACS members are not tied to any specific product and will sell whatever customers demand, provided they can provide it in a lawful manner.
“As new fuels come onto the market, our members want to have the legal option to sell these fuels if their customers wish to buy them,” Eichberger said, adding that the Domestic Fuels Protection Act would help the industry bring new fuels to market.
“H.R. 4345 will address some of the legal issues that are preventing retailers from even considering whether to sell new fuels like E15,” Eichberger said, adding the bill is not fuel specific or solely an E15 bill. “H.R. 4345 is fuel-neutral; it is designed to facilitate the introduction of innovative new fuels,” Eichberger told the subcommittee.
In closing, he noted that H.R. 4345 is the “necessary first step to reduce the cost of introduction of new fuels and to provide long-term regulatory and legal certainty to the market.”