FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 26, 2007

For more information, contact: Robert Baylor 202-466-7200 rbaylor@npga.org

Protecting Rural America's Fuel Choice
Grassley Propane Amendment Can Save America's Farms and Rural
Communities from Unnecessary Government Rules

(WASHINGTON, DC) –  The National Propane Gas Association is urging its members to contact U.S. Senators in strong support of an amendment introduced today by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA).  This amendment to the FY2008 homeland security appropriations bill would exempt thousands of small businesses and rural farms who use propane from the arbitrary requirements of new DHS chemical security regulations.

Sen. Grassley’s amendment would prohibit DHS from applying their new regulations to small businesses and rural communities that house less than 100,800 pounds of propane, or 24,000 gallons.  This would save thousands of rural propane customers and businesses who are not security risks from having to comply with another burdensome—and expensive—government rule.

Large tanks that hold under 24,000 gallons of propane are common in rural areas.  The owners of hog, turkey and chicken operations, grain drying operations, grain elevators, vaporizers, stand-by systems for small rural industrial or construction operations, back-up power systems, distributed energy tanks for mobile home parks who now face expensive regulatory burdens by storing this amount of propane would become exempt from the DHS requirements if Sen. Grassley’s amendment is enacted into law.

As currently written, the new DHS rules will affect all propane marketers and customers that store over 1,785 gallons of propane.  Propane is a very common fuel that serves millions of rural, agricultural, and small business customers.  It makes no sense for the government to classify stationary tanks as security risks.

The U.S. propane industry is very concerned about the effect this regulation will have on thousands of its customers.  If the arbitrary DHS rules are implemented without any changes, every propane marketer and customer facility above the 1,785 gallon threshold, regardless of location or type of operation would have to submit via the Internet only facility information so that DHS can determine if the facility is a security risk.  DHS estimates research costs per each facility to be $2,300-3,500.

The DHS rule also will reduce safety of propane customers.  The arbitrary 1,785 gallon threshold limit will result in customer requests for more frequent deliveries of smaller amounts of propane.  This means more truck travel and more fuel transfer operations – the source of most propane related incidents.

The list of propane facilities covered by the existing 7,500 lbs. (or 1,750 gallons) threshold is extensive.  A conservative estimate of 136,000 propane customers would have to comply with the rules. The DHS regulations also indicate that total storage capacity on a piece of property will trigger the threshold, so the user of three 1,000 gallon tanks in separate locations on a farm or orchard would have to comply with the rule.

The National Propane Gas Association is the national trade association of the propane industry.  NPGA represents approximately 3,500 companies, including producers, wholesalers, transporters, and retailers of propane gas as well as the manufacturers and distributors of associated propane equipment and appliances.  50 million Americans choose propane as their energy source.  For more information about NPGA and the propane gas industry, visit NPGA on the Internet at www.npga.org.

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07-11