Aaron Oil Comapny, Inc.: 30 Years of Leadership and Growth
When it comes to cutting-edge research and development in the oil industry, nobody does it better or faster than Aaron Oil.
When Aaron Oil Company, Inc., (Aaron Oil) was founded in Mobile, Alabama in 1981, it embodied the definition of a startup business and had one truck and one driver. Since then, Aaron Oil has expanded by leaps and bounds and now has a fleet of nearly 70 trucks.
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Six-Figure Liability for Used Oil?
06/15/2011
Fast lube operators who properly manage used oil and contract with licensed used oil transporters are supposed to be safe from cost associated with hazardous waste liability. But, as of April 2011, they’re not. What happened? Two old enemies have reared their ugly heads again: federal overregulation and Superfund.
This year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a new solid waste rule covering a vast array of materials that are recycled via burning, including used oil. As per AOCA’s comments to the proposed version of the rule, EPA upheld the used oil-fired space heater regulation and did not impose burdensome new requirements for on-spec used oil recycling. EPA classifies on-spec used oil as an "alternative fuel" which allows the same end-users who have always purchased used oil-derived recycled fuel oil to go on with business as usual. That aspect of the rule was a major victory because fast lubes generate on-spec used oil. If only that were the end of the story...
Unfortunately, the used oil recycling chain does not live on on-spec used oil alone, and off-spec used oil didn’t fare well under the new rule. EPA has classified off-spec used oil as a solid waste that can only be burned at a small number of specially permitted facilities (similar to hazardous waste disposal). Moreover, EPA’s new category of "alternative fuels" could be eliminated by future administrations or struck down in the upcoming federal lawsuit over the new rule. The most severe option for regulating on-spec used oil under this particular aspect of the solid waste rules would place it in the same category as off-spec used oil, thereby leaving fast lubes in the position of having to pay hazardous waste management fees to get rid of it.
The National Oil Recyclers Association has already announced its intention to sue EPA over the rule, and Sierra Club is very likely to do so as well-though on the opposite side. Whether the AOCA gets involved will depend on the will of fast lube operators nationwide. In case anyone is wondering how much it would cost an average fast lube to have its used oil transported like off-spec oil under the new rule, the estimate is $100,000 to $150,000 per year.
For those fast lube operators with in used oil transporter range of the Leach Oil Cleanup Site in California, the news gets worse. Leach Oil, like most used oil recyclers-turned- Superfund sites, was licensed by the state, but apparently not inspected and definitely not required to maintain adequate financial assurance. The facility operated from the late 1960s through 1998, which leaves five years of potential exemption for fast lubes. The cost of cleanup has been estimated as high as $35 million. Many fast lubes, dealerships and service stations are on the high end of the potentially responsible party (PRP) list- not a good place to be.
AOCA is attempting to facilitate the formation of a special fast lube PRP group to both negotiate for fast lube operators’ unique interests and keep their overall transaction costs down during the settlement process. Fast lube operators interested in joining the group should contact AOCA immediately. A private law firm rather than EPA, is running the Leach Oil Cleanup Settlement, so they have not sent out the Service Station Dealer Exemption application form and likely will not even entertain the matter unless affected fast lubes push for it. Again, all fast lube operators connected to or concerned that they may become connected to the Leach Oil Cleanup Site should contact AOCA immediately.
JOANNA JOHNSON is a principal with Johnson Policy Associates, Inc., and policy advisor to the Automotive Oil Change Association. For more information visit: www.aoca.org.
PRESS RELEASE
Aaron Oil to Help in Recovery of BP Gulf Oil Spill
Aaron Oil is utilizing proprietary processes to break emulsions and provide a recovery outlet for British Petroleum (BP).
Aaron Oil received a grant from the International Used Oil Research Institute to develop and test a method to recover and potentially reuse oil from the BP spill.
Aaron Oil is working on seperation technology that has beneficial use for recovered oil, which will allow the oil to be sent to a refinery and energy recovery, which was its intended use.
All material recieved for consideration under this project will be subject to the highest industry operating standards (ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001). Currently, AOC is the only recycling operation in the world that has been audited and certified by both these rigid standards.
The materials being processed and studied by the Research and Development Department at AOC, has all been tested and shown to not be hazardous based on the EPA and all applicable State Regulations that could be impacted by the oil spill.
Because the oil spill is on going, the staff here at Aaron Oil is focused on its critical part of assisting BP and their contractors in finding the most effective recovery solutions and best uses of the recovered oil.
