MOC is most pleased to report that after months of work with House and Senate leadership on Beacon Hill, the Council has secured an extension for the upgrades of unprotected oil lines, as defined in Massachusetts General Law Chapter 148, Section 38J. On June 24, a House and Senate Conference Committee passed an MOC-drafted amendment that extends the deadline for compliance from July 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011. It is important to note that the extension applies only to the homeowner oil line compliance deadline and not the deadline for homeowner insurance offerings.

Oilheat dealers are strongly encouraged to continue to aggressively upgrade unprotected lines currently in use. The oil burner code (527 CMR 4.00) has been revised to allow for the upgrades to proceed. Retail companies must use the new Form 1A to perform inspections of existing lines, and use Form 1 to secure permits to upgrade any unprotected lines. A complete copy of 527 CMR 4.00 can be accessed through this link . MOC has also prepared a customer pamphlet for retailers to use to help communicate the key elements of the law as well as Form 1A – the oil line upgrade inspection form – in NCR triplicate for retailers to use when conducting oil line inspections. Call MOC for details on these items.

Despite diligent efforts by MOC and a team of industry leaders from across the country, Congress did not act on legislation that would have reauthorized NORA activities. The program reached its “sunset” point back in February and now the industry is preparing a new, comprehensive piece of legislation to be introduced soon before Congress. The bill will allow NORA to continue with its very successful programs while expanding R&D efforts and reflecting the industry’s steady movement towards biofuels blended with ultra low sulfur diesel.