January 5, 2017

NAAA eNewsletter

On Dec. 7, President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate Scott Pruitt to be the next Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Pruitt will lead the agency that regulates pesticides and avgas and establishes the Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires corn be used in transportation fuel, thereby raising the price and demand of corn.

 

But who is Scott Pruitt, what is his background, and what would his confirmation mean for ag aviators? 

 

Edward Scott Pruitt is a Republican politician and lawyer from Oklahoma who attended Georgetown College in Kentucky and then earned his J.D. from the University of Tulsa. After practicing law for several years, Pruitt won a seat in the Oklahoma State Senate, a position he held for eight years. In that same period, Pruitt became the General Managing Partner of the Oklahoma RedHawks (a Triple-A baseball team), lost a congressional race and lost a lieutenant governor race.

 

In 2011, Pruitt was elected to be Oklahoma’s attorney general. As attorney general, Pruitt was an advocate of federalism—the belief that states should have greater jurisdiction than they do presently, while the federal government should have less—and created a “federalism unit” in the attorney general’s office to fight what he sees as federal overreach. Pruitt thereby initiated many lawsuits against the federal government on behalf of Oklahoma, such as lawsuits against EPA to block federal regulations like the Clean Power Plan, which would limit carbon dioxide emissions, and the Waters of the U.S. rule, which would expand Clean Water Act regulations to ditches, creeks, wetlands and other areas.

 

To sum up Pruitt’s view of how he plans to run the EPA, he has been quoted saying, “The American people are tired of seeing billions of dollars drained from our economy due to unnecessary EPA regulations, and I intend to run this agency in a way that fosters both responsible protection of the environment and freedom for American businesses.”

 

This statement, along with his lawsuit against the Waters of the U.S. rule, is good news for aerial applicators who would see regulatory costs rise should that rule go into effect. Pruitt is also likely to support a repeal of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit (PGP) requirements for applicators, which will ease the regulatory burden for operators who have contracts for mosquito applications. Moreover, Pruitt is unlikely to implement carbon taxes on the aviation industry—something President Obama’s EPA had advocated.

 

While Trump has said that Pruitt will be pro-ethanol, the nominee has been critical of the Renewable Fuel Standard in the past, going so far as to file an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in 2013. Pruitt argued that EPA ignored the risks that gasoline with over 10 percent ethanol poses to cars’ fuel systems and the standard’s effect on food prices. In a statement at the time, Pruitt claimed, “The evidence is clear that the current ethanol fuel mandate is unworkable,” and called the standard a “flawed program.” Still, with Trump’s vocal support of the standard, it’s unlikely Pruitt would have the political muscle to significantly reduce that program.

 

Four years ago, Pruitt would have needed 60 senators to vote for his confirmation to become the head of EPA. However, Sen. Harry Reid rammed through several controversial rules in 2013 that allow presidential nominations (except Supreme Court nominations) to be confirmed with just 51 votes. Since Republicans have 52 seats, they are expected to confirm Pruitt with relative ease.

It's finally 2017, which means it is time to renew your NAAA Membership if you haven’t already done so. NAAA debuted a 50th Anniversary documentary at the 2016 NAAA Convention in Long Beach, Calif. It received accolades from viewers as it took them on a journey back in time to the formation of NAAA with interviews from past presidents and key moments in history that shaped and defined the agricultural aviation industry as we know it today. When you renew your membership for 2017, you’ll receive a DVD copy of the documentary along with bonus features such as the General Session panel of past leaders talking about NAAA and their success.

 

Renewing your 2017 membership online is quick, easy and you can save a stamp! 

 

In 2016, NAAA was instrumental in urging Congress to enact legislation requiring marking and a federal database for towers under 200 feet to prevent incidents and save ag pilots' lives. It takes members such as you to achieve these industry milestones so we urge you to renew your 2017 membership today--the payoff far exceeds what you will spend in dues in the form of effective advocacy. 

Renewing Has Never Been Easier!

Online Renewal Directions

Follow these directions to renew your NAAA membership online. If you have any questions or you’d prefer to renew your membership over the phone, please call (202) 546-5722.

1. Visit AgAviation.org.
2. In the upper right-hand corner, enter your username and password and click Enter. If you do not remember your password, click “Forgot Your Password” and follow the directions. 
3. Click “Your Account” under your name in the upper right-hand corner.
4. Click Membership Renewal (as seen in the graphic below)

5. On the first membership screen, scroll to the bottom and renew with the existing membership type, unless you’re changing your membership type. Click Next.
6. Follow the directions or make any changes on the second screen. Click Register Now.
7. Please fill out the appropriate information on the payment screen and renew your membership.

The 27th annual Environmental Respect Awards contest is underway. Interested aerial applicators have until March 13 to make a compelling case for their operation’s environmental stewardship program. The Environmental Respect Awards program is open to retail farm supply businesses that store, handle, sell, and/or apply crop nutrient and crop protection products. 

 

 

To compete for an Environmental Respect Award, you must submit a self-audit entry at environmentalrespect.com. Creating a self-audit entry has never been easier, thanks to the Environmental Respect Awards’ save-as-you-go entry process. Aerial applicators can save their entries and update them at a later time by logging in with their username and password.

 

The Environmental Respect Awards are sponsored by DuPont Crop Protection and presented by CropLife magazine and AgriBusiness Global. One business in each state and a sub-regional winner from each of three U.S regions (East, Central, West) plus Canada will be recognized as the best business in their respective areas. The top regional award recipient among the sub-regional winners will be crowned as the “Ambassador of Respect North America” for 2017. 

 

Past winners include NAAA member Tim Tyree of Tyree Ag Inc. in Kinsley, Kan. Tyree received a Kansas state Environmental Respect Award in 2009 and was named a 2011 Environmental Respect Award regional winner. A decade earlier, NAAA member Darrel Mertens of Aero Applicators Inc., Sterling, Colo., received state honors in 2001 and a regional Environmental Respect Award in 2002. 

Contest Tips

Want to get a leg up on the competition? Here are some tips from past judges to make your self-audit entry stand out: 

1. Supply photos, such as pictures that pertain to your security, mixing and loading, storage and safety procedures. Pictures will bolster the claims you report in your self-audit booklet. 
2. Supply supporting materials. Consider newspaper and magazine articles about your business, community letters, marketing materials, copies of written emergency plans, facility maps, press materials, etc. The more information, the better. 
3. Include comments and explanations. Several areas throughout the self-audit online application request comments or explanations. Use those areas to explain your business procedures, provide background information and communicate your company policies. The selection panel refers to the comment sections to help make final decisions about winning entries. 
4. Make sure every question is answered in the self-audit. All unanswered questions count as a “No” response and can significantly affect your entry score. 

Visit environmentalrespect.com for more information and to get started.

We look forward to seeing you Feb. 17-18 at the NAAA and NAAREF Board Meetings, with a couple of meetings beginning on Feb. 16. All meetings are open to NAAA members. We will be at a new hotel this February, the Westin Alexandria in Alexandria, Va. The Westin Alexandria is located at 400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314. The hotel is a three block walk from the King Street Metro stop (take either Blue or Yellow Line), which is the second stop south of Ronald Regan National Airport (DCA). You can view a map of the metro system here.

 

You can view a tentative schedule here. Please email Lindsay Barber if you will plan to attend the meetings. 

 

Westin Alexandria, 400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314

Rate: $148/night plus tax 

Local phone (703) 253-8600

 

Reservations: Call 866-837-4210 (mention NAAA Board Meeting) or make your reservation on-line here.

 

Room Block Closes: January 20, 2017. Room rates will be higher after block closes and we cannot guarantee rooms after this date.

 

Stay tuned to upcoming eNewsletters for important updates on NAAA business following completion of the spring board meetings.